Do you believe in magic?
by Shadowonthewall6
Summary: AU: When Nami wakes up in the middle of the night to find a stranger with a straw-hat in her room, her life is turned upside down as she is dragged onto an adventure with the very fate of the world hanging in the balance.  "Do you believe in magic, Nami?
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey everyone, Shadowonthewall6 here**_

_**A new story idea I came up with. Hope you all like it.**_

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**Warning: First chapter is REALLY vague...**

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_**Chapter 1: Forcible recruitment**_

It was just approaching midnight on Commi Island. The sky shone brightly with stars. The moon was a large crescent shape and its small rays of light floated down to earth. The people of Cocoyashi village were sleeping peacefully, lulled to sleep by the soothing sound of the waves calmly caressing the coast. The only noises heard inside the village itself were the chirping of crickets and the wind slowly breezing through the town. Far away on the outskirts of the village, a lone house stood undisturbed. The house was a soft blue colour and was surrounded by a large field of oranges.

Strangely, at this late hour, the house's only occupant was currently awake. Her short orange hair was draped over her eyes, hiding her dark chocolate eyes from the moonlight that was piercing through the window. On her left shoulder, the bottom of a tattoo was visible underneath a small white sleeve. Due to the cold weather, the woman had wrapped herself up in a variety of blankets and was also wearing a white shirt to help stay warm. Suddenly, a small gust burst through the bedroom window, opening it up with a loud bang. It was at this time that Nami sat up in shock, staring at the open window. Slowly pushing her orange bangs out of her eyes, Nami walked over to the window and closed it shut. The young woman shivered slightly in the wind and quickly hopped back in bed. She sighed contently, burying her head deeper into her pillow. Nami hated the rotten weather. For an instance, she almost imagined Bellemere walking into her room and giving her a hot chocolate to 'keep her warm' through the night. Nami could feel a forlorn frown creeping up onto her face. She really missed living with Bellemere, Nojiko and Genzo. Unfortunately, growing older meant growing bigger and therefore, Nami and Nojiko had moved out of their old home around six months ago. The sisters still kept in touch with their parents but were also quite independent. Nami sighed once more as she soaked up the warmth of the sheet. It was a nice night. The stars were shining, the sky was cloudless, a shadow was currently eclipsing the moon from view…wait what?

Nami quickly shot up and the shadow across the moon suddenly disappeared, being replaced by a loud clanging sound on the floor. Nami jumped slightly in shock and reached for a candle at the side of her bed. The moment she reached for it, however, the candle fell onto the floor, as if pulled by a strange force, and disappeared into the shroud of darkness on the floor. Nami was now freaking out.

"Who…who's there?" she called into the shadows. Nothing replied, except a small breeze of wind as something raced past her head. Whatever it was, it was fast. Nami slowly reached under her bed and pulled out a small staff from underneath it.

"Nojiko…Bellemere…is that you guys?" Nami called again into the darkness. Another breeze passed over her head. This time, however, she could also hear the thud of something in front of her. She panicked, letting out a surprised scream. Before she could react, however, the shadow disarmed her and caused her to drop the staff on the bed. Nami suddenly found herself pinned to the wall, with an arm either side of her, keeping her from escaping. She squirmed against the shadow but the shadow didn't move.

"Let me go" Nami shouted with fright at the darkness "What do you want?" The shadow's reply was a strange one

"Shi-shi-shi-shi"

The shroud of darkness around the shadow slowly faded away, revealing a strange grinning young man. The young man had a straw-hat that covered his head and slightly hid his black hair. His piercing black eyes stared deep into Nami's dark brown eyes. His wide grin seemed to be too wide for his face. Nami felt herself turning red at their close proximity.

"I finally found you" the stranger said happily. Nami stared at the stranger in complete shock. The stranger then leapt back joyfully, landing on a soft cushion in the middle of Nami's room.

"Wait til' I tell the guys" he said with a chuckle. Nami was, however, too shocked to say anything. Who was this man? How had he gotten into her house? And, more importantly, why was he here? Nami reached for her staff, whilst she watched the man. She slowly analysed her companion. The stranger's straw-hat was possibly the neatest thing about him. His shirt was made out of a variety of red cloths that had been recently stitched together. His trousers were dusty and frayed at the edges. A dusty cloak was also worn over his shoulders. Nami held out her staff to threaten the mysterious man.

"Who…who the hell are you?" She asked angrily, again examining his clothes with her eyes "Are you some sort of thief?" The stranger in the straw-hat looked up at her with a smile.

"Nah!" he replied "Name's Luffy, I'm a…what did Robin say now? Bagerond? Nagerbond? ...Vagabond! That's it, she called me a vagabond…though she was mad at me then so I'm not sure if it's a good thing" Nami stared at Luffy in complete confusion. Was this guy serious?

"Are you an idiot?" She asked him, poking Luffy's shoulder with her staff. The straw-hat 'Vagabond' laughed loudly and then tilted his head.

"That's not very nice Nami" he replied. Nami instantly froze.

"How…how do you know my name?" she asked, still holding her staff out to threaten the intruder. Luffy chuckled boisterously.

"Long story" he muttered as he grabbed hold of Nami's staff. With a quick tug of his arm, Nami suddenly flew forwards off her bed. She was now laying front first on the floor next to her strange intruder. Luffy examined her staff for a second then flung it behind him. It made a loud crash on the floor.

"You see…" Luffy began, as Nami looked up at him "You're important. More important than a lot of people in this world and definitely more important than me. I can explain everything in detail and answer any questions you have but right now, you need to come with me" The orange haired woman stared at him, mouth agape. More questions flooded into her head, yet she said the most obvious first.

"Go with you? Why should I?" Nami asked, slowly trying to back away from Luffy. She didn't get far, however, as Luffy grabbed her arm.

"Nami…listen to me" Luffy reasoned "You need to come with me NOW! Or else everyone's going to be danger" Nami's stare turned to a glare as she slapped Luffy's hand away.

"Are you threatening me?" she asked angrily. Luffy stood up and shook his hands from side to side.

"No, no, no, no! You've got it all wrong. All I want…no…ALL I NEED is for you to come with me Nami" Nami, however, continued to shuffle away, now back on her bed.

"I'm not going anywhere until you answer my questions" she bellowed, grabbing a pillow and tossing it at Luffy "NOW GET OUT OF MY ROOM" Luffy sidestepped the pillow and started to approach her.

"Nami, we haven't got time for this. They know you're here. It's coming for you" Luffy reasoned once more. Nami didn't listen, however, and reached for her bedside draw to find something to defend herself with. She was stopped, however, by Luffy's hand. Nami shuffled backwards against her wall.

"I've no idea who you are or who 'it' and 'they' are so just get out of here you phyco" she yelled. Luffy didn't listen, instead crawling onto her bed and pinning her against the wall with his arm. Nami tried to resist but suddenly found herself mesmerised by Luffy's eyes. He reached into his pocket with his other arm and removed something Nami couldn't see.

"I'm not a phyco" Luffy said "and trust me, one day you'll thank me Nami" Nami, however, did not want to thank the stranger and began to struggle to try and get free. Unfortunately, Luffy's legs stopped her from escaping, having trapped her legs in between them.

"Hey Nami" The orange haired woman stopped struggling and turned to the mysterious man with wide eyes

"Do you believe in magic?" Luffy whispered. That was the last thing Nami heard as the next second, Luffy had put an open palm to his lips and blown some purple dust at her face. Nami's eyes suddenly felt heavy and, reluctantly, she closed them and returned to her slumber.

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…_**I'm totally evil for leaving this big a cliff hanger**_

_**To be continued in Chapter 2: Kidnapped**_

…_**No, you don't even get a preview**_

_**That's how evil I am :D**_

_**Until then, I'm Shadowonthewall6 and I hope you've enjoyed (and will enjoy) this chapter and the chapters to come.**_

_**Please review. Positive criticism is welcome.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well a new year, a new chapter of 'Do you believe in magic'. To be honest though, I got really inspired by the last chapter and…well I finished this quite a while ago…but I couldn't update because of Christmas and such. Now, however, I feel it's the right time to update. However, I am concerned about the plot of the story as I admit; it's kind of…generic. You'll find out about it as you read on…**_

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**So please enjoy and review so I can tell whether this story is a lost cause…or whether it can do well… **

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_**Chapter 2: Kidnapping**_

"…Could you be any more reckless?"

Nami slowly opened her eyes at the sound of the loud voice. She shot up out of her bed and looked around with worry. She was in a strange wooden shack. There was a window to the right and through it; Nami could see a clear night sky. Beside her, she could only make out a table and another bed. This wasn't her home. Nami grabbed her head and groaned loudly. Then, she felt her memories returning. There had been…a shadow…a person…some dust…Luffy… Suddenly, the orange haired woman felt extremely woozy. It was as if she'd been hit over the back of the head with something hard. Her vision was blurred and she groaned loudly at a sudden headache.

"Don't worry Zoro, I was really sneaky. No-one even saw me"

Hearing the familiar voice from outside, Nami shook her head. The strange feeling faded away in an instant and now Nami was able to fully understand her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she wondered out loud, holding her aching head.

"Oh, I see you're awake" a voice replied. Nami jumped backwards slightly, shocked by the presence of a woman at the side of her bed. The woman had long black hair with shining blue eyes. A strange dress which ended at the knees was the woman's choice of clothing. Nami looked at her with fear and shuffled backwards.

"Who the…" She began but before she could finish, Nami felt her headache return. The woman gently gestured her hands forward towards Nami.

"Be careful" she said in a concerned tone "The effect of the sleep powder is still active in your body. The more you try to move, the more it tries to put you back to sleep, so I suggest you lie down for a minute" Nami groaned as she let herself fall back onto her pillow. Slowly, the headache faded and the woman beside her smiled.

"You see" she said happily. Nami nodded slowly and offered the woman a kind smile.

"Er…thank you" Nami said "I don't mean to be rude…but who are you and where am I?" The woman chuckled slightly.

"Oh how rude of me, I do apologise" she said quietly, giving a small bow "My name is Robin. It's nice to meet you Nami" Nami's eyes widened like saucers.

"WHAT?" she shouted loudly at the stranger. How did everyone know her name? It was then that Nami noticed the loud conversation outside stopped. Robin chuckled once more as she turned to the door.

"Looks like we're about to have company" she joked. Almost as soon as she had finished her sentence, the door suddenly burst open and a strange shadow dashed into the room. It settled slightly near Nami's bed and stopped an inch from her head. Nami was shocked at this and stared up at the shadow that stood above her. The shadow continued to shimmer as it clamped its hands together.

"Dispel" the shadow said, in a voice that seemed strange and diluted. It was then that the shadow began to disperse, breaking up into smaller pieces of darkness. When the shadow's pieces had faded away, a familiar smiling face was the focus of Nami's attention.

"Hey Nami" Luffy said with a smirk. What he didn't expect was for the young woman to grab him by his scruffy collar and to pull him towards her.

"YOU!" Nami yelled angrily into his face. Luffy could tell she remembered him. "WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHERE IS HERE? WHO ARE YOU?" The questions blurted out. Luffy still gave a small smile.

"Good to see that you're all right" He commented with the smile still on his face. His face, however, would soon be engrained into the floor by Nami's fist.

"WHY DO YOU NEVER ANSWER ANY OF MY QUESTIONS?" she bellowed loudly. Luffy's muffled reply only served to aggravate her more. Robin let out another laugh and Nami turned a glare towards her.

"You're no better! Why are my questions so hard to answer?" Nami shouted at the black haired woman. Robin continued to smile at her, making Nami feel slightly nervous. She was isolated from her family and friends, in a mysterious place surrounded by kidnappers who could possibly turn on her at any minute. Unfortunately for Nami, her fears were so great that she soon found herself acting on instinct. Noticing a small knife on the table nearby, Nami quickly formulated a plan. In a second, she had grabbed the knife and was now pointing it at Robin.

"ANSWERS, NOW!" she growled through barred teeth. Inside, Nami was quite happy however. Now that she had the upper hand, the kidnappers would answer her questions and allow her to return home. Robin, however, continued to smile.

"I'd put that down if I were you" a voice echoed. Nami instantly turned around to the sight of a long katana blade aimed at her throat. She froze in shock and stared at the wielder of the sword. Another shadow was positioned with the sword in hand, sitting calmly on the nearby table where Nami had swiped the knife from. Nami shuddered as she felt the cold steel near to her face. Reluctantly, she dropped the knife onto the bed cover. The shadow nodded.

"Dispel" it said and then the shadows once again shattered into pieces, revealing a man with green hair sitting on the table in a dark green coat and a plain white shirt that seemed just as stitched together as Luffy's red shirt.

"Maybe we'd answer your questions if you stopped threatening us…" the man said with a cocky smirk.

"Or if you stopped hitting us on the head" Luffy suggested, his voice still muffled by the floor boards.

"Or if you stop asking so many questions" Robin finished with a large smile. Nami collapsed against the wall and sighed. There was no hope of dealing with these people by trying to act hostile. It was only getting her into deeper trouble.

Reluctantly, Nami shuffled to face her kidnappers.

"Okay" she murmured quietly "Could you please tell me why I'm here?" The man with the sword tilted his head slightly to the side at the question.

"Didn't Luffy tell you?" he asked in confusion. Nami calmly shook her head.

"YOU IDIOT LUFFY" the man growled as he picked Luffy up off the floor by his collar "WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER HER BACK AT HER HOUSE?" Luffy groaned slightly.

"Because…they were almost there"

The room fell silent. Nami noticed how the angry swordsman's expression suddenly changed to a fearful one. Robin's hands turned into fists and the black haired woman shivered. After a second of silence, the man released Luffy and sat down on the bedside table again.

"Well then Luff, you better explain it to her then, otherwise this journey's gonna be real awkward" He muttered with a hint of anger in his voice. Luffy nodded and walked closer to Nami. He silently sat down of the bed and Nami shuffled closer to him, hoping to hear the explanation. Luffy took a big breath and then began.

"There's…this thing out there….this bad, bad thing…it's a great evil force that some people know as…Yami*"

"Wow, real original name for a great evil" Nami joked sarcastically. Luffy turned his head to look at her. His eyes were bold and serious. Nami immediately stopped laughing. Luffy continued.

"It…it's not a person…or a creature…it's just a kind of force" Luffy began again, still watching Nami with his determined eyes. "Yami is as old as the universe but, it doesn't fit into the grand scheme of things. Whilst other forces, such as day and night, are in balance, Yami exists for the purpose of shifting that balance and then, after it has full control, it will destroy everything. It feeds on the carnage, feasting and gorging on the chaos…"

"And it's getting stronger" Robin chimed in from the sidelines "Soon; Yami will have enough power to become physical…and when it does…"

"The end of the world. It will make everything burn" the man with green hair finished. The room became silent once more.

"So…why am I here?" Nami asked timidly.

"Prophecy" Luffy answered simply, before taking a big breath again.

"A long time ago, there was an oracle. She could tell the future of anyone. Her last ever prediction was recorded as "The prophecy of the end". The prophecy was about how to defeat Yami for good. It was a question" Luffy explained, he then turned to Nami again and pointed at her.

"What do you need to turn the tide?"

The room once again turned silent. It took Nami a few seconds to realise that Luffy was talking to her. She began to stutter, unsure of herself.

"Er…I don't know, a good leader? A good battle plan?" she asked. Luffy shook his head and then playfully poked her forehead.

"No, the literal tides of the ocean…a wave…a big wave" Luffy answered with a small grin. Luffy then reached into his pocket. After a while of rummaging, he pulled out a small black box and held it out towards Nami. Luffy opened the box to reveal a small compass inside. The compass arrow was pointing towards Nami.

"Nami…your name means wave" Luffy whispered with a smile "The prophecy was about you"

"You think I'm…I can stop this big evil?" Nami asked, shuddering at the prospect "I think…you've got the wrong Nami…" Luffy then breathed in loudly.

"_She will be born from a step mother_"

"Your mother's name is Bellemere, step-mother in French"

"_Though her name is of the ocean, her heart will be of land_"

"You own a tangerine patch back home, which you've put your heart and soul into tending"

"_The eternal compass shall forever point the way to her"_

"This is the eternal compass. There's no doubt. You are the Nami we need" Luffy finished, waving the eternal compass from side to side. The arrow followed Nami as the compass moved around. Nami was shaking slightly as Luffy stood up and smiled at her.

"Nami…we need you to help us stop Yami…" Nami's reaction was to stare stupidly at Luffy for a few seconds in complete shock. What had she got herself into? She was supposed to kill some sort of evil immortal monster? Nami slowly began to speak again.

"Luffy, I can't do this! I'm just an ordinary girl from a far away island; I can't stop this Yami thing!" She yelled. Luffy shook his head and grabbed Nami's shoulders, making her look at him.

"Nami…you don't have a choice. You have to do this, you need to do this...and you can do this…because I believe in you!" Luffy said firmly, gazing into Nami's eyes. The determined look he gave her made Nami feel faint. It was as if this strange guy knew just what to say to cheer her up. Nami hesitantly looked away for a moment but then looked back.

"Let's say I did join you…How am I supposed to kill this Yami?" She asked. Luffy's reaction was not one she wanted.

He shrugged as he sat back down next to her.

"Robin said something before about finding a book I think" he said, turning to his raven haired friend.

"Yes Captain, I did" Robin said with a smile, before turning to Nami "Apparently, the knowledge of how to defeat Yami are contained in special magical tomes called "Poneglyphs". The tomes are impossible to destroy and are ageless, meaning that they have to be out there somewhere. All we have to do is acquire one of these Poneglyphs and then we shall find out how to destroy Yami…or to be more precise, how you defeat Yami" Nami shook her head in confusion and turned to Luffy with a tilted head.

"Then…if you knew all of this, WHY DID YOU KIDNAP ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?" she bellowed. Luffy laughed in reply.

"You weren't kidnapped, you were… 'Relocated without knowing' and 'forcibly recruited" he teased with a smile. Nami glared at him and Luffy sighed.

"Alright…the reason why we had to get you away from Cocoyashi was because…well, remember when I said Yami was just a negative force? I was telling you half the truth. Whilst it can't do anything by itself…it is a sort of puppeteer if you will" Nami looked in confusion at Luffy.

"A…puppeteer?" she asked. Luffy nodded.

"It can control people to do things, such as, forcing them to locate and kill you" Luffy missed Nami's squeak of terror at the thought and continued "And when I cast a sensory charm on the island, I noticed some people approaching. They seemed to have a lot of dark energy, so, I 'kidnapped' you so you couldn't be found and killed"

"You shouldn't worry Nami" Robin added as she shuffled from a chair to a seating position next to Nami. "After we make a stop at a nearby island, we'll let you head home…but then I hope you would help us on this quest of ours after you say goodbye to your home properly...Would you, Nami?" The woman in question sighed, hugging her legs.

"What you're telling me…" she began "seems…strange…but…but I think…I need time to decide" Luffy and Robin smiled at her with joy. Nami understood now.

The strange thing was that the odd explanation would be the ONLY reason for her kidnapping that made sense…no matter how stupid it seemed.

"All we ask for is that you consider it" Robin said soothingly as she got up from her seat. However, Nami still had one question left.

"So…if I'm some sort of...key to defeating this Yami thing…then what do you have to do with me?" she questioned. Luffy immediately sprung from his seat beside her, smiling with his hands behind his head. He walked into the middle of the room and then bowed low towards Nami.

"Well 'Miss. Nami', I would be your chosen guardian" Luffy announced with a proud smirk. Nami's eyes widened slightly at Luffy's sudden politeness, whilst Robin explained further.

"Every generation, a person is chosen to protect and defend 'the wave' on her quest to destroy Yami. Luffy was chosen when he was 5 years old by the last guardian, who had lost his arm in a battle and therefore, couldn't live up to his responsibilities as a guardian" Nami blinked at Robin's statement.

"Then why are you here?" she asked the dark haired woman. Robin smiled in return.

"Luffy may be a determined fighter…but a brilliant guardian, he is not" she said, watching Luffy drop disappointedly on his knees "That's why I'm here, to train him with his magic and Zoro's here, to train him with his swordsmanship" Nami suddenly remember the silent moss head who was now asleep on the table.

"Don't worry" Robin whispered to her "Zoro may be lazy but he's also friendly" Nami nodded slowly, now understanding most of the events that were happening.

"So, are you done now?" Luffy asked his orange haired friend. Nami nodded slowly.

"Yeah…I think so…it'll take a while for me to fully understand everything but I think I get the idea…" she explained. The straw-hat guardian smiled.

"Good…I suggest you get some sleep then" Luffy said as he stretched "It's been a long night for you I guess, so you might as well relax" Luffy then slowly approached the door but stopped for a moment.

"Oops, better not let myself get spotted by anybody who might sneak up on us" he said, clasping his hands together. For a moment, Luffy was still. Then, he clapped his hands together again.

"Darkness charm: living shadow form" he called. Suddenly, shadows from around the room seemed to leap from their place towards Luffy. The shadows then slowly merged with Luffy, turning him into a living shadow. The shadow turned around and waved.

"Goodnight Nami. Night Robin. I'll see you guys in the morning" the shadow said as it disappeared out the door. Robin chuckled slightly but then stopped hearing a gasp. She looked over at a wide eyed Nami.

"How did…he just…" she muttered with a shocked expression. Robin winked at her.

"Magic" she replied as she made her way over to the nearby bed. Robin quietly slipped under the covers and then began to undress. She casually threw her clothes away from her, not realising Zoro was nearby. The swordsman was attacked by a flying robe and collapsed off the table onto the floor.

"Stupid woman…" he grumbled as he returned to his sleep. Robin chuckled.

"Goodnight to you too swordsman" she mumbled happily, turning towards the window and closing her eyes.

"Goodnight Nami" she called as she finally fell asleep. Nami was still shocked by Luffy's strange shadow magic but replied none the less.

"Night" she called as she let herself fall backwards against her pillow. She was now more confused than before. A great evil? A prophecy? A guardian? This was sounding more and more like some sort of children's story. Then, the orange haired woman remembered something.

"_Do you believe in magic?"_

That is what Luffy had asked her before she had been dragged onto this adventure. Nami smiled softly as she imagined Luffy's smiling face.

"Guess I have to…Luffy" she murmured as she felt sleep take her once more…

A loud knock sounded at the door. The red haired woman turned to the door slightly shocked. Who could possibly be awake at this hour? Let alone running around outside in the cold. Slowly, the woman opened the front door.

"Hello?" she said to the people at the door. There were two of them. The one nearest to the door was average height, whilst the one behind him was quite tall. Both of the strangers wore a long black cloak with a small black hat. The smaller of the two removed his hat and looked the woman in the eye.

"Good evening Miss" he said politely "I was hoping you could tell us where someone called Nami lives. We've heard about her famous tangerines from some friends and we're…dying to find her" Bellemere analysed the men for a moment.

"Isn't it a little late to be shopping?" she asked curiously. The smaller man nodded.

"We've just arrived on this island and were hoping to find a place to stay" he explained. Bellemere nodded slowly.

"Not to be rude" the larger man said, as he too removed his hat "But we're not sure where to stay, may we please rest here for the night?" Bellemere looked at the taller man for a moment and then shrugged. She'd fought off stronger looking people when she was in the marines, so these two shouldn't be a problem if they did decide to be hostile. Plus, the smaller man seemed to be quite polite, truthful, and to be honest, he was very attractive to boot. There was something…soothing about him. The man just seemed to make her feel calmer…almost like magic. Being one to never refuse eye candy, Bellemere nodded.

"Alright" she said "Just for tonight" The smaller man nodded and smiled.

"Thank you. Here's some money for your trouble" he said, slowly grabbing Bellemere's arm. Bellemere didn't pull away but she did feel a jolt of electricity down her arm. The smaller man gently pulled her hand open and plopped five 1000 Beri notes in her hand. His hand lingered for a second longer than necessary and then pulled away. Bellemere stood aside as she welcomed the two in. She stood there watching them with a smile as the two men shuffled in, bowing low and thanking her for her kindness.

"So…" she said as she closed the front door "May I have the name's of my guests?" The shorter of the two men smiled and bowed low once more.

"The name's…Hideki..." he said with a calm voice. The taller man then bowed as well.

"Arlong…my name is Arlong" the fish-man said as he smiled a wide tooth grin. The two men couldn't help but grin at the turn of events. After all…

Yami was moving one step closer to killing the wave…

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_**To be continued in Chapter 3: The journey of a thousand miles begins**_

_**No preview again. Keeping things mysterious with another evil ending.**_

_***-Yami means Darkness in Japanese, which explains why Nami mocked it for being unoriginal**_

_**And just to clarify, Hideki is NOT an original character. He's a real One Piece character going under another identity. **_

_**Despite this chapter being a lot of explanation, I'm not going to give you ALL the answers, now am I?**_

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_**Magical analysis theatre #1: Elemental magic**_

Luffy: Hey Robin, what're you doing?

Robin: Hello Captain. I've decided to create a sort of bonus part of the chapter to explain to those who are not magically inclined in the audience about magic

Luffy: OOH sounds good, can I help?

Robin: Why of course captain

Luffy: AWESOME! So, what are we talking about today Robin?

Robin: Well, captain, today we will be discussing one of the two forms of magic, elemental magic

Luffy: OOH OOH OOH Robin, can I tell them about that one?

Robin: If you wish captain

Luffy: Well, elemental magic is a type of magic where you use the natural elements you see around you. Right, Robin?

Robin: Correct Captain, elemental magic usually comes in the form of 'Charms', such as 'Water charm', 'Fire charm', 'Darkness charm' and so on

Luffy: There's a lot of elements to work with, right robin?

Robin: Indeed Captain, a large variety. With this large variety of elements, you can perform a high variation of individual techniques.

Luffy: Yeah, you could make a fire dragon…or a water dragon…or an earth dragon…or even an air dragon!

Robin: You seem to be quite the dragon enthusiast, Captain

Luffy: Well, Dragons are cool

Robin: What about your father, Dragon?

Luffy: Robin…I'm think I need to go now, I heard Zoro calling me…

Robin: Alright…was it something I said?

Luffy: …

Robin: Anyway, thank you for reading 'Do you believe in magic'. If you have any magically inclined questions about the story, do not be afraid to ask. I'll see you all next time. Bye.


	3. Chapter 3

_**This next chapter was really bad to write…not as bad as 'Search The Wind' was mind you but I still got MASSIVE writers block during this. Luckily, I've done more of the story now. To be honest, I'm not too sure about this chapter so I hope you enjoy and please review.**_

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**Warning: The end of the story is quite violent and quite depressing…I recommend you keep a tub of ice cream nearby to cheer you up afterwards…**

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_**Chapter 3: The journey of a thousand miles begins**_

The sounds that Nami awoke to instantly reminded her of the current situation.

"Any threes, Zoro?"

"Ha, go fish!"

"But…I thought you wanted to play cards…"

"No Luffy, that's what we're playing…go fish"

"But…we're playing a card game?"

"Yeah…a card game called 'Go fish'"

"But…why is the game called 'Go Fish' if we're using cards?"

"Haven't a clue buddy. We'll have to ask Robin later. She'll know. She's like a human encyclopaedia"

"I heard that swordsman!"

Slowly, Nami stirred and looked over to the door. Nami sat up and walked out onto the deck. Sitting there on the floor of the ship was the green haired man Zoro and Luffy. At the sight of Nami, Luffy smiled and stood up to greet her.

"You're awake!" he said happily. Nami rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm just sleep-walking" she replied sarcastically. Luffy chuckled loudly. Nami sighed "So where are we heading for now?" she asked.

"Well, we're heading for a place called 'Dawn Island'. It's where we were all raised" Luffy explained "We're gonna resupply there then take you back home" Nami exchanged a sad gaze with the floor as she remembered the choice Robin had asked her to make

"_After we make a stop at a nearby island, we'll let you head home…but then I hope you would help us on this quest of ours after you say goodbye to your home properly...Would you, Nami?"_

Nami shuddered slightly. Things were happening too fast. A few hours ago, she had been kidnapped by a mysterious man with a straw-hat and now, she was some legendary chosen one who needed to vanquish a great evil. It was almost driving her insane. She was pulled out of her thoughts quite suddenly as Luffy draped a small blanket around her.

"You looked cold" he said with a kind smile. Nami blushed slightly but shook off the strange feeling.

"I'm alright" she said softly. Luffy nodded and offered her his wide grin "So when will we be arriving at Dawn Island?" Nami asked.

"Nami…we've been docked here forty minutes" Luffy explained with a smile.

Confused, Nami turned around and her eyes widened. The scene that welcomed her was that of a small village. The town was busy and bustling with people buying from the nearby shops. Small children were tugging at their mothers pants wanting to go over to the candy shop, whilst their mothers sighed and told them to wait until she had finished the shopping. The smell of fish floated over to Nami from the fishmonger stand and assaulted her nose with the horrid smell. Luckily, the smells of flowers and of baking bread distracted her from this abomination of an odour. The bakery was the most popular attraction in the port as the delectable warm baguettes were quite appealing to the hungry passerby. Nami couldn't help but smile at the sight of this happy community.

"Reminds me of home…" she murmured. Luffy beamed at her.

"I guess…shouldn't you change into something more appropriate?" he asked nervously. Nami glanced down at her attire. She then remembered that she was only wearing a white shirt which barely covered her undergarments. Nami blushed and without another word to Luffy, leaped back into the cabin with a squeak. Luffy chuckled and turned to Robin.

"Hey Robin" he called over "I think Nami needs to borrow some of your clothes!" Robin nodded and rose from her seat at the back of their small boat. She slowly headed over towards the cabin and entered. Luffy sighed and then took his usual seat next to Zoro.

"So…Luffy…" Zoro began in a hesitant tone "Do you think…"

"I have no idea" Luffy interrupted and turned to Zoro with a serious look "If she refuses…there's not a lot we can do about it…" Zoro nodded and began to stare at the clouds.

"We could kidnap her?" Zoro suggested. Luffy chuckled.

"I've already done it once, so I don't know whether she'll fall for it twice" He replied. Zoro nodded. This 'wave' seemed quite the resilient type and might have a problem with his suggestion.

"We just have to hope" Luffy continued, smiling widely at Zoro "I think she will though, she seems nice!"

"But is she dependable though?" Zoro asked. Luffy gave him a small glare but said nothing, instead focusing on the soothing blowing of the wind. What was with Zoro doubting this new girl anyway? If she was the wave, then she had been chosen by destiny to be the savoir of all. That must have meant she would be a good person, dedicated to helping others. Luffy sighed. He really was getting attached to this 'wave' quite quickly, which was good. If Luffy would have to be guarding her from all the evil in the world, it was best that he actually liked her instead of just seeing her as a burden.

After a few minutes, Nami exited the cabin with Robin. She was wearing a white robe with a long blue skirt. To be honest, Nami thought she looked pretty good. It wasn't what she was used to, but it seemed to fit. Luffy's head jerked up and his never faltering grin was the first thing she saw.

"We all set?" he said, looking over to Zoro. The green haired swordsman nodded, springing up and walking towards the pier where they had docked. Luffy and Robin followed suit and the three of them leapt onto the deck, gently and effortlessly landing on the pier. Nami was almost mesmerised by the way the three acted. It was as if they were both copying each other in some way. They seemed close, closer than she'd ever seen a group of people be. Noticing their confused glances at her, Nami joined them on the pier and the four walked into town. It surprised Nami that EVERYONE in the whole town recognised her new friends. People gave them small waves and greetings, which the group returned. A butcher they walked past even threw Luffy a piece of meat as he passed. Everyone also seemed to offer her a curious look. Feeling uncomfortable, she sneaked closer to Luffy and tried to hide from the curious onlooker's view. Luffy noticed this and gave her a friendly grin.

"Don't worry Nami" he said happily "These people are nice" Nami did not reply to him but offered Luffy a sweet sincere smile.

Without stopping, the crew made their way over to a small bar nearby. Nami paused for a minute outside before attempting to walk further. Strangely, she was stopped by Zoro's arm.

"It's best to not go in there yet" the swordsman warned "Oh, and I'd step slightly to your left" Confused, Nami obeyed the green haired man and noticed that whilst Robin had also stopped walking forward, Luffy had continued onwards. He swung open the small doors to the bar and was obscured from sight.

"Hey guys I'm home" Luffy's voice yelled from inside the bar. The next thing Nami knew, Luffy came flying out from the bar, smashing the swing doors in his way. Nami gasped and watched as Luffy flew past where she had stood previously. Luffy quickly recovered in the air and grabbed the ground, slowing himself into a crouch position.

"YOU STUPID BRAT!" Oh, but the fun had just begun.

At the sound of the loud yell, a chair flew out of the bar, aimed at Luffy. Luffy quickly sprung to his feet and sidestepped the chair. The straw-hat that shaded over Luffy's eyes couldn't hide his grin.

"Hey Dadan!" he replied, only for another chair to be flung at him. Luffy jumped over the chair and looked over to the open doorway. In the doorway stood a rather large and portly old woman. Her face was contorted with a mask of rage and even her orange hair was standing on end in fury. To make matters worse, she had a table clutched in her arms. The table did not remain there for long, however, and promptly impacted the building behind Luffy, as the raven haired boy ducked to dodge the table. Nami was freaking out at this turn of events and turned to the others to judge their reactions. Robin and Zoro were unaffected by the strange woman who was flinging the objects at Luffy, as if they had almost expected it. Nami looked quite puzzled at the woman, who she presumed was Dadan, and listened to her shouts.

"A WHOLE MONTH LUFFY! (throws barrel) YOU DON'T CALL! (throws chair) YOU DON'T WRITE (throws table) WHERE WERE YOU YOUNG MAN?" Luffy laughed at Dadan's angry threats. Eventually, Dadan stopped flinging the random objects and ran forward towards Luffy. The black haired boy was then picked up in a crushing bear hug by Dadan. The old woman held Luffy close, crying in frustration. Luffy struggled against her grip, smiling widely.

"Wow Dadan, calm down, I'm alright" he assured her softly. The upset woman ignored the boy's calming talk…and then punched him on the head.

"Idiot" Dadan muttered "You could've been killed out there"

Dadan then turned towards Zoro and Robin and smiled at them.

"Thanks for looking after him" she said kindly. The two nodded and gave a small bow but said nothing. Dadan then turned towards Nami, who started to shake in fright. If this woman had just beaten up her so called 'Guardian', what chance did she have of beating her? Dadan stared at Nami and she stopped. Her eyes moved from Nami to Luffy, then Nami then Luffy. After that, Dadan let out an extremely loud laugh.

"Ah Luffy, it's good to see you've finally got yourself a girlfriend. Come on in" she said. Zoro and Robin chuckled at the presumption, whilst Luffy and Nami blushed at the idea. As Dadan walked towards the bar, she could hear two voices chorusing a denial.

"What? No, we're not…I'm not…he's/she's not…I barely know him/her…" Dadan ignored the voices and walked inside the bar.

"Hey Makino, Luffy's back!" she yelled as she entered. As Luffy, Zoro, Robin and Nami followed, they heard a happy reply.

"Really? He's back?" A green haired woman said as she turned around to face the newcomers. The woman had large chocolate eyes and a smile that matched Luffy's.

"Yeah" Dadan replied with a grin "And he's brought his girlfriend with him!" Two loud denials objected to this but neither was taken into account. The green haired woman ran over from behind the bar and embraced Luffy with a smile.

"I missed you" Makino said with a soft smile. Luffy smiled in return and embraced her as well.

"Good to see you too Makino!" he said with glee. Makino then turned towards Nami and offered her a hand.

"So you're Luffy's girlfriend, nice to meet you" she said kindly. Nami accepted the hand but continued with her complaints.

"Nice to meet you too, but I'm not Luffy's…" or at least she tried to, before a loud voice echoed from outside.

"DADAN, WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?" the voice who yelled this turned out to be a small man with a strange striped hat on his head. Dadan immediately explained her anger.

"Woop Slap, Luffy's back" Immediately, the small man's eyes widened and he dashed over towards Luffy.

"Hey Woop Slap!" Luffy greeted but he was quickly whacked on the head with Woop Slap's cane.

"You reckless fool!" Woop Slap yelled angrily "I thought I told you not to keep doing these 'magic spells' of yours" Luffy frowned at this.

"But Woop Slap, didn't you do magic in the old days?" he argued but the old man was not giving up on his point.

"I admit I dabbled in the ancient arts…BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THE POINT IS, LUFFY; I DO NOT WANT YOU ENDING UP LIKE THAT SHANK'S FELLOW!" Woop Slap bellowed angrily.

"I wouldn't mind ending up like Shanks" Luffy replied happily "He's one of the strongest wizards of all time!"

"I don't think I'd mind Luffy ending up like Shanks" Makino mumbled but then Woop Slap turned on her.

"Don't get me started on you Makino! Your relationship with him is disgraceful! Now, I will concede that the captain is a very nice man, but, he is a mage AND MAGE'S A SUPERSTICIOUSLY COWARDLY LOT AND THEY'RE NOT BE TRUSTED!" Woop Slap yelled with rage. Everyone in the tavern became silent but Woop Slap sighed.

"But you're here now…so why are you here?" he asked.

"We're here to get supplies so we can continue our quest" Luffy revealed. Woop Slap nodded.

"Well then I suggest we get you your supplies as soon as possible, today's a Sunday so I presume all the shops that are open now will probably be shut by four" the small man said. Luffy nodded.

"Lead the way then old timer"

The rest of the day was spent collecting supplies for the group's return journey. Along the way, the crew gathered enough food and water to last them for a week's journey (making Nami think that the crew had already made her choice of joining them for her). Whilst Luffy and Zoro were loading the supplies onto the ship, Nami sat down to the side.

"So…how did you join these guys?" Nami jumped slightly and turned to Makino, who had sat down alongside her.

"It's complicated" Nami replied "…You're Makino right?" Makino nodded and smiled.

"And your name is?" Makino asked. Nami replied by stating her name.

"Nami" Makino mumbled with a smile "That's a nice name, it means wave right?" Nami hesitated for a second but then nodded. Makino didn't seem to react to the confirmation in anyway and just continued to smile.

"So…how long have you known Luffy for?" Nami asked Makino.

"I've known since he was a kid" Makino replied with a smile "He used to live in the bar, before he was chosen to be your guardian" Nami paled.

"You know about this prophecy thing?" she asked nervously. Makino nodded once more, offering Nami a smile.

"It seems like you're going on an epic quest right?" Makino questioned. Nami stayed silent for a time.

"I…don't know" Nami finally replied "Robin said I could choose to stay with my family or I could go on this dangerous adventure but…I just don't know what to do anymore…" Makino shrugged and stood up.

"You'll make the right choice" she stated "I trust you" Nami gave her a confused look.

"You don't even know me" Nami retorted but Makino shook her head.

"I know that Luffy trusts you and if he does, then I do" she reasoned, a smile still on her face. Nami returned the smile awkwardly.

"Look after Luffy for me" Makino added with a melancholy tone "He's…had a lot of problems along the way…so make sure he's okay" Nami slowly nodded.

"What problems?" she asked. Makino smiled.

"When he wants to tell you…he'll tell you himself…" she explained.

The two women were about to continue their discussion, when Robin yelled over to them.

"Nami" she called "We're done with the supplies so I suggest you get ready to depart" Nami nodded and turned to Makino, who smiled.

"I can see great things in you" Makino stated happily "Good luck…in whatever you choose to do" Nami reluctantly nodded and descended the steps towards the ship.

"Oh, by the way" Nami turned round as Makino passed her a small ornate box "Give this to Luffy. Something tells me he'll need it very soon" Nami nodded once more.

"Thanks Makino, it was nice meeting you" Nami called as she headed for the boat. Makino watched her leave with a smile.

"Farewell Nami…" she thought to herself.

As Nami boarded the boat, she noticed the large variety of barrels of water scattered around the deck. On top of one of these barrels was Luffy, who stood with a happy smirk on his face.

"Alright" he said happily "We'll have to set off now if we want to reach Nami's home by tomorrow. The winds have died down so we'll have to get that sail up as soon as possible" Zoro nodded and quickly started raising the sail. Luffy grinned and turned over to Robin.

"Robin, do we have everything we need?" Robin nodded.

"All food has been stored in a box and has been kept cool with an ice spell"

"Excellent!" Luffy shouted with joy "Now, let's set a course for Commi Island!" Robin and Zoro cheered as the ship's sail rose and caught the gentle breeze. Slowly, the boat left the dock, gracefully cutting through the water. Nami approached Luffy and handed him the ornate box. Luffy dropped down so he was now sitting on the barrel and inspected the box.

"What's this?" he asked. Nami shrugged.

"Makino said you'd need it" she replied. Luffy tilted his head in confusion and opened the box. A small smile graced his face.

"Perfect" he whispered. As Nami slowly approached to look at the contents of the box, Luffy shut it firmly, pocketing the small box into his coat pocket. Nami suppressed the feeling of disappointment and curiosity she had and instead, followed Luffy to the back of the ship. Dadan, Makino and Woop Slap stood there waving them off. Luffy began waving like crazy, whilst Zoro and Robin stood quietly to the side, giving a small one handed wave to the three on the dock. Slowly, Dawn Island sunk into the distance and the three of the crew members stopped waving. Nami, however, just stood there thinking. These three brave warriors had just left their home behind, possibly to never return, and they were smiling. Nami clutched at her heart.

"Could I do that?" she thought. She could almost picture Genzo attempting to stifle his tears as she sailed into the sunset. Bellemere would be waving like crazy as well, mostly yelling her to take care. Nojiko would be in the worst shape, waving exactly like Luffy and yelling that they'd meet again. Nami sighed.

"_You'll make the right choice"_ But would she? Nami had never been away from home for as long as she had been today…yet here she was, considering sailing around the world for who knows how long, looking for Robin's so called 'Ponyglyths', just hoping they could tell them how she could beat this 'Yami' thing. Nami shuddered. Whilst the thought of this 'epic quest' was quite daunting, Nami couldn't deny that she was incredibly curious about the rest of the world. She wanted to see the kingdoms and castles and mountains and fields and the large expanse of the ocean that went on infinitely. She had never felt so alive in all her life.

"Well then guys" Luffy's voice snapped Nami out of her day dream "I'm gonna play cards for a bit, anyone wanna join?"

"No thanks captain" Robin said. The last chapter of my book was just so thrilling that I need to find out what happens next"

"And I need a nap" Zoro stated, his eyes already drooping. Luffy looked at the two in awe.

"Then who the hell can I play with then?" he moaned. Zoro opened a weary eye and smiled.

"What about Nami?" the swordsman asked. Luffy's face instantly dawned with recognition as he turned around.

"Yeah, you're right, come on Nami" he said happily, grabbing Nami's hand and dragging her to the front of the ship. Zoro and Robin exchanged a knowing look and then headed followed their captain. As Robin sat on a barrel to read and Zoro leaned against the ship ready to sleep, Luffy dealt the cards. Nami was at first going to protest but the cute look on Luffy's face stopped her. Plus, as days went, this one went pretty well. She had made some new friends; she had journeyed out of the village and now, she was playing a delightful game of 'Go Fish' with Luffy on their way back to her home. Today, overall, had been a pretty good day.

"Any threes?" Nami quickly hid the three of clubs she had behind the ace of spades and smiled.

"Go fish"

Plus, Nami had a feeling that her good day was getting even better…

Dark clouds gathered around the sky of Commi Island. The bright sky that had been there a second ago was now obscured by a veil of darkness that hid the sun from view. The only light source on the whole of the island was one that was emanating from far away from Cocoyashi village. A familiar pale blue house was covered in scarlet and orange flames. The flames danced their destructive path around the house and even the tangerine patch outside was brightly shining with a raging inferno engulfing it. Amidst the ash and the pyre, four silhouettes stood out against the background of crimson. One of these figures was lying on the floor, a large bleeding slash covering his back. Blood was slowly dripping onto the floor. He was still alive…barely but he WAS alive. A slender feminine figure was also among the flames. Her arms were being held behind her back by the largest of the figures. Standing in front of the woman was a man of average height wearing his traditional black cloak and hood.

"I'll ask you again woman" the stranger in the hood informed his captor with a grin "Where is THE WAVE!" The redheaded woman stood where she was, panting for a bit. Finally, she opened her mouth…and spat at the stranger's feet in defiance. The stranger smiled. He stepped forwards towards his captive and held her chin between two of his fingers.

"Such determination in one so…" the stranger's hand gently moved and caressed the woman's right cheek, before moving his hand to pull her ear towards his mouth

"So…fragile…" he finished, licking his lips at the thought of blood.

"YOU BASTARDS!" the sound of the cry caused the stranger to look towards the man on the floor "STAY AWAY FROM MY WIFE!" The stranger's grin turned wider.

"Oh Arlong…" he sang in a sickeningly joyful tone "I believe our friend Mr Genzo needs a good kick in the ribs…please oblige him" The large fishman nodded as he pushed his prisoner forwards towards the stranger. The stranger caught Bellemere and whisked her in a circle, so she could see Genzo behind him. Arlong stopped over to Genzo and roughly kicked Genzo. Genzo groaned loudly, attempting to hold his side, despite his injured left arm. The stranger smiled as he saw the woman's face adopt a look of horror.

"Now…Bellemere, tell me again. I'll ask you nicely…where is the girl called Nami?" Bellemere was silent. She slowly opened her mouth but another voice interrupted her.

"Bellemere…don't…tell him…anything" The stranger sighed at Genzo's plea.

"Arlong" he called once more "Provide our friend with a broken bone would you" Arlong nodded as his foot stomped down firmly on Genzo's right leg. The stranger didn't need to hear the loud scream of pain to know Arlong had done his job. Bellemere's face was acting as a mirror for him. She began to shiver at the sight of the injury. Her head moved but the stranger grabbed her head and forcefully adjusted her position.

"Well?" he asked. Bellemere's reply was not what he expected.

"She's…she's at home with her sister…" The stranger grinned.

"You're lying to me" Bellemere's face turned pale

"No, I'm…"

"Arlong?"

"Two or three more Hideki?"

"…Make it four"

Another loud thud coupled with another loud scream made Bellemere's eyes water. Hideki smiled even more.

"Don't lie to me please Bellemere…you'll make Genzo cry…" Hideki taunted. Bellemere glared at him with all the hatred she could muster, but in the end, her glare subsided.

"I…don't know…" she replied meekly. Hideki's eyes widened.

"Come…again?" he asked with added hesitation. Bellemere looked up at him and repeated.

"I don't know" Hideki's eyes were wide with…was it shock? Bellemere studied Hideki's features which were now in a thoughtful state. He seemed…taken aback by her statement…in fact, a small part of Bellemere's mind wondered if Hideki was possibly having a breakdown in front of her. Eventually, even Arlong lost patience.

"Er…Hideki, two or three more?" he asked casually with a wide shark-like grin. Hideki stayed silent, still completely stunned. Arlong tilted his head in confusion.

"Er…Hideki…"

"We're leaving" Hideki's reply caught Arlong completely off guard.

"What?" the large shark-man yelled at his companion. Hideki turned around and glared at Arlong, who immediately fell silent.

"She's not here idiot…the woman is telling the truth…" Hideki said through gritted teeth. Arlong's shocked face was so amusing that, in any other situation, Bellemere would have chuckled as the fish-man's jaw hit the floor.

"What…do you mean?" The fish-man asked nervously. By now, Hideki's patience was wearing thin.

"What I mean is that she has left. She has departed. She has made like a banana and split. SHE is no longer HERE!" Hideki ranted at his partner. Arlong shrunk as Hideki angrily paced around the area.

"So what do we do now?" Arlong asked with confusion. Hideki angrily groaned at the question.

"I don't know! THAT'S WHY I'M THINKING!" he yelled. Suddenly, Bellemere heard something click in Hideki's mind and a wide grin appeared on the maniac's face.

"Of course…" Hideki said with a chuckle "Of course, of course, of course…" Arlong looked at him with confusion. Hideki grinned deviously as he removed a small object from his coat. Hideki quickly walked over to Arlong and handed him the object.

"Do what you will…make it quick…" He instructed. Arlong's shark-like grin returned as he looked over his shoulder at Genzo.

"What about him?" He asked. Hideki shook his head.

"Every crime needs a witness…he'll inform others of the message" Hideki chuckled as Arlong approached Bellemere. Bellemere stepped backwards in fear but fell over, due to a plank of wood that was on the floor. She cursed the burning house as she hit the ground. Arlong smiled as he stopped before her and placed the object to Bellemere's head. It was a revolver. Bellemere's eyes grew wide. She tried to shuffle back away from her pursuer but Arlong was still in front of her, aiming the gun between on her forehead.

"How…why?" Bellemere murmured in hysteria. Hideki smiled and in reply, he kneeled down to look her in the eye.

"Tell me Bellemere…" his smile grew insidiously wide as he whispered

"Do you believe in magic?"

Any scream or reply was cut out by the echoing sound of a gunshot…

* * *

_**To be continued in Chapter 4: Moonlight conversation**_

"_Can't sleep?" Luffy asked. Nami nodded._

"_So…what do you want to do?" he asked._

"_We could talk?" Nami suggested._

"_What about?" Luffy questioned._

"_Tell me about…you…"_

_**Okay after the end of that chapter, how many of you hate me?**_

_**Probably everyone…**_

* * *

_**Magical analysis theatre #2:**_

Nami: Hey Robin

Robin: Good evening Nami, what's wrong?

Nami: Not much…but I'm just a little curious about this 'Shanks' guy who Woop Slap mentioned, who is he?

Robin: Why, Shanks is powerful mage. Luffy met him when he was little and ever since then, he's been Luffy's role model.

Nami: Wow, that's cool! So, where is he now?

Robin: Well, currently, he's a leading member of the Magic Council

Nami: Magic Council?

Robin: Yes, the Magic Council is a group of powerful mages who uphold and protect the laws of magic. Most of the council members control various groups of mages called 'Guilds'

Nami: You mean like a trading merchant Guild?  
Robin: More like a Guild of mercenaries for hire

Nami: Oh right, thanks for helping me Robin

Robin: No problem Nami…but shouldn't you be getting back to the Captain? He looks like he's waiting for you to start another card game with him

Nami: Oh right, see ya Robin

Robin: Anyway, thank you for reading 'Do you believe in magic'. If you have any magically inclined questions about the story, do not be afraid to ask. I'll see you all next time. Bye.


	4. Chapter 4

_****_

I've FINALLY finished chapter four however, this is technically only half a chapter as I didn't reveal about half the things I wanted to in this chapter, so the rest of Luffy's flashback scenes will probably be in Chapter five.

__

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please review.**

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Moonlight conversation**_

The sound of crashing waves surrounded the quiet ship throughout the weary night. The blue sea was calm, yet a cool breeze still pushed the ship along, gently on its course. Before, the bright fading light of the sun had illuminated the wooden boat and its crew, but now, the twinkling stars were the only light in the sky. The time was currently about 9:00…at least, that's what Nami had guessed the time was. She sat on the deck, her eyes slowly drooping. The long amount of time she had spent awake last night was catching up to her and she could feel her eyes drooping. Surprisingly, Zoro, Robin and even Luffy looked wide awake, despite the fact that Nami had never seen the straw-hat leader sleep. It was around that time when Luffy voiced his thoughts.

"Right" he yelled, attracting the attention of the other crew members "It's about time we set up a night watch" The others nodded despite Nami looking completely bemused by the whole thing.

"I'll take the first shift if you wish captain" Robin announced. Luffy nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Robin will be on deck from now until midnight and I'll take the second watch from midnight to three in the morning. Then, I guess, Zoro will have the last shift from three to six" Zoro muttered something about 'damn early hours' but still nodded in agreement.

"Right, we're all set" Luffy said loudly as he sprung from the barrel he had been sat on.

"What about me?" Luffy stopped and turned to the confused Nami on the floor.

"Well…" Luffy began with an awkward smile "Don't take this the wrong way Nami but…you're kinda useless in a fight…and you haven't learned magic yet so you can fight more good…"

"So I can fight better…"

"Yeah, that's what I said" Nami groaned and slapped her face. Sometimes this guy just plain infuriated her.

"So basically, I've got to sleep whilst you guys keep watch?" Luffy smiled at her awkwardly once more.

"Sorry Nami, but you're not exactly a skilled warrior right now" he explained. Nami sighed loudly but she found she couldn't complain. She was, after all, outclassed by these mages who she had become involved with. Therefore, she reluctantly nodded in acceptance and headed to the cabin. Nami entered the cabin and collapsed onto one of the beds in the cabin. She sighed loudly and contently as she relaxed on the soft mattress.

"You know Luffy just wants the best for you right?" a voice called after a while. Nami shuffled into a seating position. The green haired swordsman was standing in the doorway to the cabin, looking at her through his cold charcoal eyes. Nami sighed.

"Yeah…I know Zolo"

"Zoro"

"Whatever" the swordsman sighed in return and flopped down against a nearby wall with a yawn. Nami watched him as he slowly drifted into sleep. The swordsman was quiet yet it was obvious he knew of her watching him.

"Hey Zoro?" Nami asked nervously. The green haired man opened a weary eye to show he was listening "How…how did you guys meet up?" Zoro cocked an eyebrow at this question.

"What? You mean me, Luffy and Robin?" he asked. Nami nodded. The swordsman let out a drawn out sigh

"It's complicated…" he stated with a furrowed brow "There's a lot of history between us three…not all of it pleasant" Nami was surprised to see Zoro wince as if a bad memory had just returned and kicked him in the shin.

"…But Luffy's had it harder than me and Robin by a long shot…well, he's had it worse than me anyway. We've kinda got over it but…he's still a bit shaken up about it" Nami's eyes widened. Luffy seemed so laidback and happy, how could such a happy grin be fake?

"So" Zoro continued "I recommend you ask him about it if you want to know everything but don't ask him now. The guy's had a long day so let him sleep before his watch" Nami nodded and fell back onto the bed. She now felt that she had a clearer view of her 'guards'. The three had obviously met under troubling circumstances, that fact was obvious to her. What Nami didn't understand was what had happened to these mages of mystical powers to have guided them on their current destination. However, it was late and the sun had long since fell behind the clouds. Before she knew it, Nami found herself in a deep and troubled sleep.

* * *

"_Do you believe in magic?"_

_The woman's eyes widened as a loud bang echoed through the area. The man on the floor with the large scar of his face, looked up, enraged at what was happening._

"_Bellemere!" he bellowed loudly. Unfortunately, he was too late. The woman fell limp to the ground, her face now frozen in a disturbed expression of fear. The beautiful pinkish colour of her skin slowly turned pale. Her last breath came and went and in a mere moment, the red haired woman was a corpse. The man on the floor shouted to her loudly, tears rolling down his face. The apparent murderer, a large blue skinned man, threw the revolver to the ground. His jagged smile widened as he observed the woman who no longer possessed life. The sound of crackling flames and the sound of shouting echoed around the area…_

…_but they were not the loudest sound…_

_No, the loudest sound was that of laughter. The scene shifted slightly so now the main thing in view was a man in a cloak. He chuckled loudly; his dark blood shot eyes staring back into the watching eyes. His insane cackles of ecstasy sounded loudly through the night sky. Slowly, the laughter faded, however, and the scene was only that of the man in the cloak smiling evilly._

"_We've been waiting for you…Wave…"_

* * *

Nami's eyes instantly sprung open and the orange haired woman jerked up out of bed. The calm sounds of the sea greeted her back to the real world. She panted loudly with a hand clutching at her chest. That dream…it was…so real. Nami shuddered slightly as a cold breeze flowed up her back and brushed against her neck. The orange haired woman slowly stood up and almost fell over. Looking towards the window, she could make out her incredibly pale face. She could feel the sweat on the back of her neck. Nami slowly turned to face the bed next to hers. Instead of a peculiar black haired boy being sprawled out on the covers, the person on the bed was a woman who has hidden herself under the sheets, with the hope of remaining warm. The raven haired woman was fast asleep on the mattress and as Zoro was still sleeping by the side of the bed, Nami assumed that it was Luffy's turn to be on watch. With a weary and a staggered step, Nami headed for the door.

The first thing that hit Nami was the cool chill of the wind that she often noticed the ocean possessed, especially at night. Gently closing the door behind her, Nami made her way onto the deck of the ship. Luffy was nowhere to be seen but sitting there on a barrel was an oddly shaped shadow wearing a straw-hat on deck. Nami immediately put two and two together and nudged the shadow gently. Surprisingly, the shadow didn't move as a reaction. Nami sighed. Luffy must have been sleeping.

"Luffy…" Nami called gently. There was no response.

"Luffy…" the shadow stayed still.

"Luffy…"

"What?"

Nami almost jumped out of her skin as Luffy's voice sounded from behind her. She let out a small scream and staggered forwards, only to crash into Luffy's supposed shadow form. The shadow form disappeared on touch. Nami was now sitting on the barrel, lying across a multitude of the wooden cases. She immediately glared at Luffy, who chuckled awkwardly.

"Decoy shadow charm" he explained to Nami's irritation. The orange haired woman stood up once more. Luffy plopped down on the floor nearby and waved at her, signalling Nami should join him. She did.

"Can't sleep?" Luffy asked. Nami nodded.

"So…what do you want to do?" he asked. It was obvious to him that she was far too awake now to return to sleep easily.

"We could talk?" Nami suggested.

"What about?" Luffy questioned.

"Tell me about…you…" Luffy's smile twitched slightly.

"Shouldn't we be talking about your nightmare?" He asked inquisitively. Nami gave him a confused look.

"How did you…"

"Why else would you be up?" Luffy interrupted "You looked pretty peaceful when I checked on you before my shift" Nami nodded. It did make sense that she wouldn't be…wait a minute…

"You checked in on me?" Nami asked. Luffy raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Why wouldn't I? I wanted to make sure you were okay…if you don't want me to do it anymore though…" he protested. Nami felt her cheeks go red but shook the feeling off, as well as shaking her head.

"No, I-I-I just was wondering…that's all" she mumbled. Luffy gave her a curious look but then offered her a smile.

"So…what was the nightmare about then?" Nami flinched at the mention of her previous dream.

"It was…just weird that's all…my mum kinda…died in it" Luffy's eyes widened slightly "But…it felt so real…Dad was crying…and then there was this guy…he looked right at me with those eyes…those cold dark eyes…"

"Hey Nami" Luffy suddenly said, causing Nami to once again jump "You wanted to know about my past right?" The odd change in the subject confused Nami but she realised that she had managed to break Luffy down.

"Yeah, well, it's just that you know so much about me (my name, my mother's name, my supposed destiny) and I don't really know anything about you" she explained. Luffy's eyes seemed to soften at this.

"So you're just really curious?" he asked, a cheeky grin on his face. Nami sighed and nodded in acceptance. "Well...I could tell you…" Nami looked up at this

"Could?" she asked hesitantly

"But I'd rather show you…" Before Nami could properly react, Luffy placed two fingers on her forehead.

"Secret arts: Memory charm" Luffy whispered. At this, Nami felt a searing pain in her head. She felt incredibly warm and a lot drowsier than a moment ago.

"Lu-ff-y…" she moaned, hardly able to keep herself awake. The straw-hat vagabond slowly leaned closer to her, shushing her.

"It's okay Nami" he whispered "Just fall asleep…don't worry, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you…" Nami wasn't so sure of this but something about Luffy's smile made her nod and she slowly closed her eyes. In mere moments, she was asleep. Luffy felt her go limp and immediately scooped her body up into his arms. He carried her to a blanket nearby and laid her down on it, wrapping her up to keep her warm. After doing this, Luffy stood up, two fingers clasping the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"_But it felt so real…"_

"I'm so sorry Nami" Luffy murmured with a frown.

* * *

_Nami's eyes suddenly opened wide. She looked around frantically. She had a strange feeling overcome her. Quickly glancing from left to right, Nami soon realised many things were wrong with what was currently happening. For one, she was no longer on the small boat that had been her home for the past two nights. Now, she was standing in a large room. She could see a wooden floor below her and what looked like an office all around her but strangely; the young girl couldn't feel anything. Another strange thing was that Nami seemed to have shrunk in size and in truth, now looked exactly like she was 8 years old. Nami glanced around the office in confusion. Everything seemed so big right now. The desk and the display cabinet loomed above her ominously. Nami shuffled away from both of the objects and continued to look around. Suddenly, Nami spotted something of use. A large mirror was positioned at the side of the room. Maybe there she could see what had happened to her form. Unfortunately, as Nami ran over, she noticed that there was nothing in the mirror. She had no reflection. Nami paused at this in shock and let out a gasp…a gasp that consisted of no sound. Nami stopped and felt her mouth. She couldn't speak. At this realisation, Nami tried to shout words of profanity that I can unfortunately not record due to her lack of a voice. As her anger slowly wore away, Nami was left standing before the mirror. What the hell was going on?_

"_Well hello there captain" at the sound of a voice, Nami turned around. She was surprised to see that there was a young boy standing beside her, obviously around her age. The boy had messy black hair with dark eyes that sparkled with the excitement of adventure. A worn straw-hat was perched on his head and somehow, the young boy had managed to fit a pirate captain's hat over it and was wearing both with a proud smirk. A freshly stitched scar graced his left cheek. Nami didn't need to see any more than the boy's eyes to know who he was._

"_Luffy?" she mouthed in shock. The boy continued to stand in front of the mirror, repositioning his hat constantly and winking slyly at the mirror._

"_Who is this mysterious rogue?" Luffy narrated to himself "The superb pirate captain worth his pirate ship's weight in gold? The man who holds the hearts of woman all around the world?" Luffy then leaped to the side, attempting to adopt the voice of an old man (he wasn't very good at impressions though and failed in disguising his voice)_

"_Why it's Straw-hat Luffy, the captain to the great straw-hat crew…wait…the straw-hat ARMADA!" Luffy quickly leaped back into his original place, adopting a mischievous grin and a cocky pose before the mirror._

"_Yep, that's me, Straw-hat Luffy. The million beri man, the king of the pirates, master of the magical arts, bigger and stronger that 20…30...50 men!" Nami couldn't help but giving a giggle at the small Luffy's daydream._

"_I can see his insanity was something he was born with" she thought._

_Strangely, as she thought this, Luffy had sprung away and climbed up on top of the desk. From there, Luffy drew out a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the desk._

"_My plan's all coming together" he said happily as he leaped away onto the floor. Nami quickly rushed up to the desk and stood on the chair nearby so she could see the sheet of paper Luffy had produced. The paper consisted of three pictures each with a number on it and a large scribble underneath it. Nami was about to try to decipher this message before Luffy spoke._

"_Step 1: I find me a crew, the best darn crew in the world" Nami glanced at the picture. Sure enough, there was a crudely drawn picture of Luffy (who seemed to be made out of circles on his drawing). Surrounding him were four silhouettes (with equally circular proportions) with a question mark on each of them._

"_Step 2: I rescue a princess" Luffy continued "That's like a rule for adventurers!" The second picture was in fact, Luffy's 'princess'. Strangely, Nami noticed that the princess, as well as wearing a bright pink dress, appeared to have a hair made from an orange crayon._

"_Step 3…" Luffy finished leaping back up onto the desk in a simple jump "I marry the princess and become…KING OF THE PIRATES!" His bright grin widened at the sight of his final drawing, which featured the same circle Luffy from the first drawing wearing a crown instead of a straw-hat. The small boy then began to dance from side to side happily. Nami silently giggled at the crazy child._

"_~Luffy! Luffy! Luffy! Can't wait to be king! Luffy! Luffy! Luffy! Hear me sing!~" the young boy shouted as he jumped around happily._

"_Luffy…" a voice called from nearby, attracting Nami's attention._

"_~Yeah! Luffy! Luffy! Luffy! I've got so much fame! Luffy! Luffy! Luffy! Gonna shout my name!~"_

"_LUFFY!" the voice bellowed again. At the surprise yell, Luffy lost his balance and toppled over onto the floor. Nami turned around and was surprised to see a tall man standing in the doorway. His hair was black and messy like Luffy's but instead of a mischievous grin on his face, this man bore a scowl. A strange red tattoo decorated the left hand side of her face and as his face contorted with rage, the tattoo followed suit._

"_Luffy…" the man repeated, somewhat softer now "I need my office for today…could you go outside please? I hear Kuma needs some help building some of the shelters" At the sight of the man, Luffy's bright smile turned into a frown. Nami felt something move in her chest as the happy boy sadly nodded and without a word, walked out of the room. The man shut the door behind him, locking Luffy out of the room but accidently, keeping Nami in it. Nami was about to dash after the young Luffy when she noticed the man had already reached his desk. He held the picture Luffy had drawn in his hand and a soft smile graced his lips. The man sat down with a sigh into his chair and held his head between his hands._

"_Oh Sayuki…where did I go wrong?" the man mumbled to himself "He hates to even look at me…my own son…our son looks at me with distain…I miss you Sayuki…you always understood him so well…" Nami watched the scene with interest before a strange feeling came over her and she fell to the floor, once more asleep._

_

* * *

_

A drowsy eye opened. The swordsman surveyed his surroundings with a sudden cold chill. From what Zoro could see, Nami was no longer in her bed whilst Robin was still asleep. With the strange disappearance of the orange haired woman, Zoro decided to go outside to look for her. So he quickly stood up and went outside, shutting the door after him. It was then that a strange smell hit Zoro's nostrils. The green haired man stopped for a moment and focused on the smell. Zoro was sure it was the smell of either sulphur or something burning. He shrugged his shoulders and headed towards the front of the ship. A dim light green light shone from behind the cabin on the boat. The mysterious light attracting Zoro's attention and now he was getting nearer, he could hear the sound of some crackling. Zoro rounded the corner and then stood as still as a statue. Nami was lying on the floor, her chest slowly moving up and down with her breathing. Sitting nearby with her head in his lap, Luffy appeared to be using a form of light green energy to magically inscribe a symbol made of energy onto Nami's forehead.

"Luffy…the hell are you doing?" Zoro asked in confusion.

* * *

_Nami's eyes opened once more. She was currently standing in a small clearing in a wood. The leaves on the nearby trees were a faded brown and many were littering the ground. The sound of birds and other animals still echoed through the trees as birds flew over head and squirrels scuttled around the clearing. Nami looked around in awe. The floor was bathed in an amazing light. Where was she now?_

"_And then…I'm gonna be king of the pirates" at the familiar voice, Nami looked to her left to see two figures emerging from the nearby trees carrying a pile of logs. One of these people, she quickly realised, was Luffy. The other figure towered over the small child at a height of around 7 metres. The man's eyes were glassed over in a sort of haze, yet his smile was unmistakable as he watched the happy young child with interest. Luffy turned around and noticed the tall man's smile and scowled at him in return. _

"_You don't believe me?" he yelled. The giant shook his head in response, his long bushy dark brown hair bouncing back and forth as he did so._

"_Of course I do master Luffy" the colossus replied, a calm smile still on his lips "You do have a lot of ambition and that is an important trait for kings, no matter what they're kings of" Luffy was confused for a second before he grinned at the large man._

"_Shishishi" Luffy laughed happily "thanks Kuma. You're not as mean as everyone says" The man known as Kuma seemed to offer Luffy a hesitant glance, obviously considering whether Luffy was complimenting him or insulting him. Eventually, Kuma finally decided to acknowledge that Luffy had actually complimented him._

"_Thank you master Luffy" Kuma said with a smile. Luffy, however, shook his head at Kuma's gratitude._

"_I keep telling you, don't call me 'Master', I'm not the son of some king" he complained. Kuma sighed however._

"_But your father…"_

"_HE IS NOT A KING!" Luffy yelled defiantly, shocking the ghost-like Nami "He's just some arrogant jackass who wants to rule the world" Kuma could not reply to this. He was too busy gaping at Luffy's disrespectful yell. The raven haired boy growled and continued to walk through the forest. Kuma sighed and followed the boy along the path. The delicate crunch of leaves under foot almost drowned out Kuma's mutter but Nami, being near enough to him, could hear the giant's lamentation._

"_Like ambitious father, like ambitious son" Nami stepped aside as the large monolith went skulking past her, calling for Luffy to slow down. Nami watched the two depart with confusion. What was that about? Suddenly, Nami's brain once more felt numb. Her vision blurred and without another thought, Nami fell once more into slumber._

"Clairvoyance" Luffy murmured, continuing to shape the green energy onto Nami's forehead from his finger tips "You know what that is right?" Zoro reluctantly nodded.

"Future sight" he replied bitterly. The straw-hat mage nodded sadly.

"The ability to see future events before they occur, usually events concerning someone important to the seer" Luffy elaborated, his sad focused frown still on his face.

"Someone's been revising their spells" Zoro joked but instantly fell silent at Luffy's glare.

"Zoro, this is serious. Future seers have…a bad habit of going crazy. If Nami keeps getting these vision things, she's gonna lose her grip on reality. That's why I'm sealing it up for her" Zoro's eyes widened.

"I didn't know you could do that" he said in an accusing tone.

"Well sometimes we have our secrets…" Luffy began but stopped at Zoro's expression. It was one of confusion. Luffy sighed, the green magic stopped flowing from his fingers and the raven haired boy curled up with his hands pulling his knees close.

"Sorry Zoro…" Luffy said quietly, his current headache now rising to an aching crescendo "I'm just starting to worry about this whole thing. I just feel like things are getting worse at every turn. I've only just found this 'savoir of all life' and I don't want to lose her" Zoro sighed and sat down next to his captain.

"Maybe…you don't want to lose her because…she reminds you of Silk?" Luffy tensed and looked at Zoro with wide eyes.

* * *

"_No, she doesn't" Nami's eyes once more opened. This passing out was becoming extremely annoying. Luckily, these moments of collapse did make a tiny bit of sense. Nami, being an intellectual woman, had worked out that somehow she was trapped within Luffy's memories. The question was where was she now?_

"_Oh yeah Luffy, stick up for your woman" a voice taunted. Nami looked up and realised that she was in a small room. The room was bare, except for seats that lined the walls. In the centre of the room, stood a small group of children. The two in the middle of the six children were a child Luffy, who Nami noted looked younger than he had been in the previous visions, and a kid with green hair. Zoro would never change._

"_She's my friend…not my 'woman'" Luffy complained, getting ready to sock Zoro in the face. Nami glanced around behind Luffy to see a strange sight. There, standing behind Luffy was a small girl with long blonde hair and freckles. These freckles were of course obscured by a large blush that covered her face. Nami instantly guessed she was the girl who Zoro was calling Luffy's woman…why did that make her mad? Nami shook off the feeling and looked over towards the girl once more. She looked quite shy to be honest, being made the centre of attention like this. Standing beside was a young girl with long black hair. This child was obviously Robin. It made the most logical sense to Nami._

"_She doesn't like me like that" Luffy yelled, attracting Nami's attention. In reply, Zoro grinned._

"_So you like her then?" Luffy's cheeks went scarlet_

"_What? NO, WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" he yelled but his excuses were drowned out by the sound of Zoro making kissing noises, gaining laughter from the others in the room. The other two children in the room, Nami had never seen before. One of them had familiar freckles to the young girl and had black messy hair, similar to Luffy's. The other kid was wearing a large hat on his head and had a chipped tooth on his white smile._

"_LUFFY AND SILK SITTING IN A TREE"_

"_K-I-S-S-I-N-G" The kid with the freckles sang to Luffy (and Nami's) irritation._

"_It's not like that, she's just a friend" Luffy kept shouting but the mocking merely got louder._

"_I should think so" the boy in the hat piped up with a smile "After all, I don't want my best friend trying to put the moves on my sister" Luffy and Silk's blush darkened._

"_Shut up Sabo!" Luffy bellowed at the boy in the hat._

"_Don't worry Sabo, I think Luffy at least knows how to treat a lady after all…HE HAS BEEN A BIG MOMMA'S BOY SINCE HE WAS THREE!" the freckled boy laughed at his joke and slammed his fist against the table he was sitting on. Luffy was not amused._

"_Oh yeah, well at least I don't fight like a girl Ace!" Zoro and Sabo let out a loud 'Ooooh', as if Luffy had just said something extremely amazing. Ace, however, did not share their view of Luffy's actions._

"_Oh really, why don't you prove it stupid?"_

"_Your face is stupid"_

_And the gauntlet was thrown..._

_Before anyone could react, Ace had leaped onto Luffy and the two were brawling on the floor. Nami watched the two fight with wide eyes._

"_I'll kick your ass shorty!" Ace yelled as he hit Luffy's arm._

"_Who you calling shorty stupid face?" Luffy yelled as he took a bite out of Ace's leg. The two boys continued to battle on the floor as the chanting commenced._

"_FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Zoro and Sabo jeered as they clapped their hands. Robin watched the fight calmly, muttering something about 'immature idiots'. Silk stayed near to Robin but seemed to watch the fight with worry._

"_You can do it Luffy!" she yelled at the brawling boy on the floor._

"_Look Luff, you got a cheerleader!" Ace joked as he kicked Luffy's shin._

"_At least she's better looking than your two" Luffy muttered looking up at Sabo and Zoro. The two other boys gritted their teeth and quickly leaped into the brawl. A dust cloud formed around the boys as they fought their war on the dusty floorboards._

"_Now, now, now my candies, what are we doing?" a voice bellowed through an open door._

"_They just reliving some tension Mr. Ivankov sir" Robin replied, looking up at the new comer and smiling. Nami also looked over to the newcomer and promptly screamed (a soundless wail mind you). The man standing in the doorway was possibly the oddest thing Nami had ever seen. He had a large purple afro on top of his giant head with a small crown perched precariously on his scalp. The man was also wearing a red leotard, revealing part of his chest. Nami felt like being sick just looking at it. The 'Okama' looked down at the brawling children and laughed._

"_Ah, such strength in those so young it makes me feels…like I NEED TO SING!" Ivankov shouted, jumping to the front of the class and promptly bursting into song._

"_**It's just a jump to the left….and then a step to the righhhht!"**_

"_**Put your hands on your hips…and bend your knees in tiggghhht"**_

_By now, Luffy and the other fighters on the floor had stopped and were currently standing back and watching Ivankov dance with horror._

"_PLEASE STOP TEACHER!" they all yelled. Suddenly, Ivankov realised the children were now focused and quickly readjusted himself._

"_Alright then, now I have your attention…have you candies done your homework?"_

* * *

"_No…"_

"No Zoro, no it's not that" Luffy explained giving Zoro an odd look. The swordsman was currently watching Nami, a hand on her forehead measuring her temperature.

"So…what did she see?" Zoro asked. Luffy felt a cold chill run up his spine once more.

"She…saw her mother…being killed…by someone…someone with piercing eyes" Luffy said. Zoro noticed his friend's uneasiness and patted his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down

"You think it's them?" he asked.

"I KNOW it's them" Luffy responded with a serious scowl standing up to look Zoro in the eye. Zoro nodded and once more, dropped down onto the edge of the boat.

"So…that's why you're trying to suppress her clairvoyance?" the swordsman asked. Luffy nodded.

"Clairvoyance allows you to see the future of those close to you and because of that; it's possible to see the death of someone you love…which is why future seers can go insane" Luffy responded mournfully. Zoro sighed.

"So…when was this supposed to happen?" the swordsman questioned with concern

"I don't know" Luffy murmured in reply "It could be happening tonight or tomorrow…or for all I know it could already have happened and Nami's just having a delayed premonition, I really have no idea" The raven haired boy then gave a large groan and sank down so he sat next to Zoro "I…just feel so useless"

* * *

"_You really are useless aren't you Luffy?" Sabo joked as he walked through a door. Nami looked around nervously, surprised by the sudden change in scenery. She now appeared to be standing in Makino's tavern, though it looked almost brand new._

"_Shut up Sabo" Nami looked over towards the door as Luffy walked in behind his friend. Sabo laughed loudly and jumped onto a nearby chair._

"_Come on Luffy, you've fought me and Sabo about a dozen times each week and every single time you lose, why don't you just give up?" Ace asked, pushing open the door once more and following Luffy into the bar. Luffy defiantly glared at Ace.._

"_Just wait, soon I'll be stronger than both you and Sabo combined!" he yelled. Strangely, Sabo smiled at this._

"_You can try" was Sabo's reply whilst Ace laughed._

"_No way wimp" Ace taunted. The look on Sabo's face was so happy and bright that it made Nami quite confused. Why was Sabo so happy towards these aggressive taunts? It was almost as if he was relieved to hear them._

"_Hey Luffy, Ace, how bout a drink you guys?" Nami's eyes followed Sabo, who was now running towards the bar. Luffy and Ace both preceded to run after Sabo, a new bright smile on their faces._

"_Sure" Luffy hopped onto a stool in front of the bar and Ace sat on a stool by Luffy's side with a nod. Sabo clambered up the shelf of drinks and took down a large white bottle. Sabo shook the bottle and then gave it a sniff._

"_Sake" he murmured "just what I was looking for" Sabo dropped down from the shelf and took a seat beside Luffy and Ace. Grabbing three small dishes, which were actually Sake cups, from a cupboard, Sabo carefully poured out a bit of Sake into each cup_

"_You know what they say?" Sabo asked as he held out the small sake cup "If you share a drink, you can become brothers" Luffy and Ace both tilted their heads at this._

"_Brothers, really?" Luffy gasped. Sabo nodded._

"_We might want to take different paths in life but this will bind us together as brothers till the end of time" Luffy and Ace gladly picked up their respective Sake cups and gave a large grin. Their eyes both gleamed with determination and a spark of curiosity._

"_Nothing can ever break this bond we have as from this day forwards…" The Sake cups were lifted and clinked in the air as Sabo's speech continued "WE ARE BROTHERS!" The new brothers cheered as they clinked their cups once more and then downed their Sake. Nami could tell that the taste of liquor was currently burning the young boy's throats but she could also tell that this burning feeling was being ignored and replaced by a feeling of joy as when the Sake was gone from the cups, the children slammed their cups down on the table and all grinned widely. Nami felt something move inside her as she watched the new brothers laughing together._

"_What are you boys doing?" Turning around, the boys faces paled as none other than Woop Slap was standing in the doorway watching them. Behind him, Nami recognised Dragon standing there with a smile on his face._

"_Having fun Luffy?" he asked. The black haired boy responded warmly with a smile and a nod._

"_Yeah Dad, I'm doing fine" Luffy said happily. Nami looked at Luffy with shock. Wasn't Luffy angry at his dad a moment ago? Well…to be fair, Luffy did look younger since Nami had first seen him in her vision. Maybe he didn't hate his father yet? Woop Slap was angrier than Dragon at the boys drinking Sake._

"_WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS? HOW DID YOU GET THIS? WHERE THE HELL IS MAKINO?" he questioned constantly. Ace and Sabo immediately pointed towards a closet at the other side of the tavern. Woop Slap looked at the closet and hesitantly stepped closer to it. Now that the room was silent, there were a lot of sounds coming from the closet. A variety of giggles and moans and many other odd sounds were now distinguishable. As Woop Slap waited outside the door, Nami hesitantly stepped closer to it as well. Woop Slap gripped the handle, palms sweating and he pulled the door open. The sight behind the door surprised almost everyone in the room. As the door flung open, it revealed a red headed man standing in the closet with a green haired woman, who Nami recognised as a younger Makino. The blushing Makino was quickly fiddling with her shirt, rebutting it quickly. The red headed man with Makino also had a red blush on his face, matching his scarlet hair and was quickly putting his shirt back on. The room was filled with an extremely awkward silence. Nami stared at the scene in complete disbelief. Slowly, the red haired man walked out of the closet, ignoring the odd stares he was getting. The man soon reached Luffy and plucked the straw-hat from his head and placed on his own. Turning around to look at the other stares, the man tilted his head._

"_Haven't any of you guys ever heard of knocking?" he asked, calmly strolling out of the room. The bar was once more filled with an awkward silence…until Luffy realised that the man had just stolen his straw-hat…_

"_Hey Shanks, get back here!" he yelled and sprinted after him._

"_Shanks stop it"_

"_Stop it"_

* * *

"Stop it" Zoro growled, causing Luffy to look up at his friend with curiosity.

"You never feel down like this usually. You never wallow in self pity. You're Luffy. Boundless optimistic, always happy go lucky and, most importantly, you never give up" Luffy's eyes widened and he looked upwards into Zoro's grim face.

"Look, Luffy, I don't know what to do next either. This clairvoyance thing is confusing but, you always figure something out. If this thing has already happened…" Zoro suppressed the shudder he felt down his spine "then there is nothing we can do but just be there for Nami...and I know you'll do that because that's the kind of guy you are" Luffy kept his gaze on Zoro, his eyes slightly watering. The green haired swordsman sighed.

"I'll take watch now, you get some rest…you'll need it" Zoro muttered. For a moment, Luffy remained still then all sorrow on his face faded and he smiled widely.

"Thanks Zoro" he whispered as he stood up. The now happy Luffy looked down at Nami. Her eyes were glued shut and her mouth was slightly open. The glowing diamond symbol Luffy had put on her forehead was now slowly fading. Luffy felt his smile widen. She looked so peaceful. Luffy felt an odd feeling in his chest as he watched her, as if his very heart was attempting to jump out of his chest. She looked like an angel.

"Luffy…Luffy…earth to Luffy?" the ebony haired man suddenly snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Zoro.

"What should we do with Nami?" Luffy stopped for a moment and considered some options before looking back at Nami with a softer smile.

"Leave her here…keep her warm…I used a memory charm on her to distract her from me sealing away her clairvoyance. She should be currently seeing our past" he explained. Zoro twitched slightly feeling a burning on his chest.

"…Everything?" the swordsman murmured with remorse. Luffy nodded.

"She needs to understand us if we expect her to help us" he said. Zoro reluctantly nodded in agreement and then relaxed against the wall.

"Night Luff" Zoro called.

"Night Zoro" Luffy replied. The green haired swordsman watched Luffy leave and then closed his eyes with a smile.

"Oh and Zoro?" Zoro's eyes once more shot open to see Luffy smiling at him from the corner of his eye

"Thanks again. You're not as bad as everyone say" the straw-hat guardian said and then, without a sound, he disappeared. Zoro grinned and once more, allowed himself to drift off into a sleep…

"Wait a minute…" Zoro's eyes flipped open as he registered what Luffy had said "People say bad things about me?"

The door to the cabin closed and Luffy slumped down against the door. He was smiling. Zoro had definitely managed to cheer him up…but he was just increasingly sleepy. He could almost see each of the memories that Nami was watching…and it hurt. It hurt so much to see everybody together again. Luffy sighed. A nearby gleam caught Luffy's eye. He slowly reached out his arm and pulled the small ornate box from Makino forwards. Gently resting the box on his knees, he hazarded another glance inside.

"Soon…I'll be able to test you out…" Luffy muttered as he promptly closed the box. Alas, sleep was something that no man could ever escape from; therefore, Luffy had no choice but to flop down onto the vacant bed. Slowly, Luffy's eyes closed and welcomed sleep with a warm embrace…

* * *

"_So what of the Wave?" Hideki looked upwards towards the vague silhouettes that stood before him. They weren't gonna be happy._

"_She…isn't here…" Hideki muttered. The council of shadows murmured hushed whispers to each other. One of the shadows, in the shape of an elegant woman, turned to Hideki with a disapproving gaze._

"_Hideki…you have failed Yami…" Hideki did not respond "You have failed this council…you have failed me…" A laugh sounded from a rather large and portly silhouette as the woman spoke._

"_Kishishishishi" the figure cackled "This wave appears to be trickier than we first anticipated" A nearby silhouette of an average sized man nodded in agreement._

"_Fear not" Hideki finally spoke "I have heard information that the Wave was currently on Dawn Island. I shall head there and leave Arlong behind on Commi Island, in case the foolish girl decides to return"_

"_How do we know that your information is correct?" a new voice rang out from another silhouette of a man in a long flowing coat. Hideki glared at the shadow that had just spoke._

"_Really Crocodile? Is that what you think? You DARE TO DOUBT ME?" the shadowed Crocodile became silent. He knew better than to say anything about Yami's favourite puppet "and you Moriah? You dare believe that such a girl can defeat ME in a battle of wits?" The large and fat shroud of Moriah did not respond_

"_Let me remind you all" Hideki shouted, causing a shudder to reverberate throughout the room "THAT I AM THE CHOSEN, THE ELITE AND YOUR SUPERIOR IN BOTH POWER AND RANK"_

"_Tell me…WHO WAS THE ONE WHO LOCATED THE WAVE?" Silence was the reply he received_

"_WHO WAS THE ONE WHO FIRST CONVERTED ALL OF YOU TO YAMI'S CAUSE?" The disapproving glances he received told him his answer._

"_WHO WAS THE ONE WHO CLASHED WITH THE GREAT WHITEBEARD GUILD AND YET STILL LIVES TO TELL THE TALE?" The shadows nodded. They had to admit, that was an impressive feat._

"_I AM MAJIN D. HIDEKI AND THIS WAVE WILL BE MINE…" Slowly, Hideki's anger faded, leaving behind a confident smirk._

"_I assure all of you. The Wave shall be captured and if I fail at my chance, then I shall ensure that you all get yours" The shades nodded and with a respectful bow, all of them except for the woman disappeared._

"_Hideki…" she murmured "I'm…"_

"_Forget it Hancock" Hideki replied "I understand your doubt but do not fear. Sooner or later, Yami shall have the Wave, Mind body and soul" The figure of Hancock hesitated for a moment._

"_And then…" Hideki had expected this and stepped forwards, grasping Hancock's chin gently in his hand_

"_And then, we will rule this god forsaken world my Queen and everything we desire shall be ours" Hancock was silent for a moment before she nodded with a blush and a smile._

"_Of course my King..." she whispered. At these words, her shadow disappeared. Hideki stood alone in the dark cavern. A small grin came to the man's lips._

"_The pieces are in place…now the game begins" Hideki smiled as he turned around to exit the cave._

"_Soon…Nami…soon..."_

* * *

_**To be continued in Chapter 5: Brothers**_

_**No preview again. I'm truly a sinister mastermind…**_

_**And if anyone knows what Ivankov was singing, you get a cookie XD**_

* * *

_**Magical analysis theatre #3:**_

Robin: Good morning Captain, how are you today?

Luffy: I'm alright Robin, just a bit nervous about Nami

Robin: Well, what do you mean?

Luffy: She doesn't know any magic and I was wondering, is it possible to teach her magic?  
Robin: Well, a few years ago, there was a rumour going around that only people with magically inclined parents could use magic but that's not true in the slightest. Really, anyone can learn magic. The only thing that can be affected is the type of magic they can use. For example, some people might be best at fire magic and others might be best at water magic

Luffy: Really? So…anyone can learn it?

Robin: Of course, in fact, there was a species of Lion that was once discovered to be able to harness magic and levitate

Luffy: Flying Lions? You serious? AWESOME! Thanks Robin!

Robin: No problem Captain, I suggest you get some sleep

Luffy: Okay…Night Robin

Robin: Good night captain. Anyway, thank you for reading 'Do you believe in magic'. If you have any magically inclined questions about the story, do not be afraid to ask. I'll see you all next time. Bye.


	5. Chapter 5

_**FINALLY!**_

_**After over two months since I last updated this story, that's all this annotation really needs to say.**_

_**So without further ado, here is Chapter 5 of 'Do you believe in magic?'**_

_**I hope you enjoy it and please review. Tell me what you like about the story, what you don't like, you can even tell me I'm a heartless monster (which you might just do at the end of this chapter)**_

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Brothers**_

"_Soon Luffy…but not now"_

"_But Silk, I'm hungry" Nami once more had to adjust to her surroundings. She was currently in a forest. The sound of laughter drew Nami's attention towards Luffy and Silk running through the trees. Silk was in front of the dark haired boy who was chasing her with a wide smile on his face._

"_C'mon Silk, just one bite" he moaned. Silk continued to laugh as she ran faster away from her playful pursuer._

"_Luffy, it's not dinner time yet. We just had breakfast an hour ago" Luffy ignored her explanation and continued to run after her._

"_But your cooking is always brilliant Silk. Can't I just have a nibble?" he continued to pester. Silk giggled loudly. Suddenly, Silk stopped as she noticed she was trapped against a tree trunk. She turned around only to see Luffy blocking the way._

"_No where to run" Luffy whispered as he cackled madly to himself. Silk began glancing around, looking for a way to escape. Before she could flee, however, Luffy had already charged up to her and was pinning Silk up to the wall with a hand on either side of her._

"_Can't get away now" he said with a wide grin. Silk's face slowly turned red. Luffy, not understanding her sudden blush, tilted his head._

"_What's wrong?" he asked. Silk did not respond, her face still as crimson as ever._

"_Excuse me, am I interrupting something?" The two children looked up to see Kuma towering over them. Realising the compromising position they were in, Luffy suddenly blushed, letting go of the tree and turning to Kuma with a flustered expression._

"_It's not what you think…" Luffy tried to reason but Kuma was already walking away._

"_Do not worry master Luffy, I will not tell anyone" the giant said as he walked away. Nami couldn't help but giggle at Luffy's despair as he yelled excuses after Kuma. Silk followed Luffy, blushing as red as a rose. The straw-hat boy continued to yell after Kuma but soon, the man was out of sight. Sighing in defeat, Luffy collapsed onto the grass of the forest floor. Silk stopped beside him and carefully sat down next to him._

"_Stupid Kuma" Luffy muttered, a scowl now replacing his soft smile. Silk let out a small giggle but said nothing. Nervously, Nami approached the couple and couldn't help but feeling un-nerved by their close relationship. Why did it annoy her so much? Nami just couldn't put her finger on it. Nami's day dreaming, however, was interrupted by a loud siren. Luffy and Silk looked up at the loud siren and scanned the horizon. Beyond the field of green, the two children (and the ghost-like Nami) could make out a cliff edge. After the cliff edge, there was the open blue sea, on which a large vessel was bobbing up and down._

"_What's that?" Luffy asked, looking towards Silk. The blonde haired girl shrugged._

"_I don't know" she announced "It seems to be heading to the village. We should go have a look" Luffy nodded. He shot to his feet and ran over to the village, deciding to sprint after Kuma. Nami stood up and was about to follow when all of a sudden, a strange feeling overcame her once more._

* * *

_In a blink of an eye, she was standing with Silk and Luffy in the middle of a crowded village square. Luffy was impatiently pushing everyone out of the way as he made his way through the crowd._

"_Out of the way!" he was shouting as he dragged Silk through the packed streets. Nami followed the two through the large group, barely squeezing past the people as they regrouped. Finally, Luffy and Silk popped through the crowd. Nami quickly caught up and together the trio walked towards the men talking at the docks. It was obvious that the three men who were questioning the new visitors were people Nami had already seen in the vision. The back of the purple afro she was looking at had to belong to none other than Ivankov. On the far left hand side stood the towering form of Kuma. In between the two oddly shaped men was a man with long black hair. Nami instantly recognised this man by his booming deep voice. It was Dragon._

"_It is honour to welcome you here to our small village, Saint Jalmack" the raven haired man announced with a bow. As Luffy and Silk approached the three men, Kuma noticed the children. Stepping away from the visitor's, Kuma placed a hand on both of the children's chest and slowly ushered them back into the crowd._

"_What are you doing Kuma? I wanna see what's going on" Luffy complained._

"_Master Luffy, Ms. Silk, Lord Dragon is in a very precarious situation. He is currently discussing things with a member of the fellowship of the celestial dragons" Kuma responded. Luffy and Silk struggled against Kuma's palm as the giant pushed them backwards. Nami, however, was able to pass Kuma, due to her ghost-like appearance. She could just about make out the visitors standing in front of Dragon. The man (who she assumed was Saint Jalmack) was wearing a long white robe with a black pattern of a dragon on the chest and an odd rectangular helmet attached to his head. Jalmack also had a rather large unshaved chin. The wrinkles around his face were deep and rough, which made his smile seem more sinister than kind. His hair style was extremely strange to boot, consisting of a ball of hair almost bobbling around above his head with a large clump of hair raising it above the top of Jalmack's head. Either side of Jalmack were men in black tuxedos, all holding onto staffs with spikes on the top. Jalmack's wrinkled smile widened and he nodded at Dragon with joy. Nami shuddered slightly as Jalmack smiled with a grin. Why was this old man so frightening?_

"_Why thank you" The old man said with his sinister smile "And I can tell that this stay is going to be…eventful…" Silk and Luffy both appeared to shake as Jalmack's gaze shifted to them. There was something about Jalmack's stare that was…unnerving. Nami couldn't put her finger on what it was but since Luffy and Silk shared the same reaction to her, she knew it wasn't a part of her imagination. However, before she could refocus on what was happening, Nami felt her mind drift off once more and her eyes fall shut._

* * *

"_That Saint guy is really weird" Sabo announced with a confused expression. Nami opened her eyes once more and realised she was once more in Makino's tavern. Sitting at a bar stool nearby was Luffy and Sabo. Both the boys appeared to be locked in a heated discussion about their recent visitor._

"_I know what you mean" Luffy muttered "He keeps saying how I should 'GIVE UP MY SINS FOR THE GREAT SHINING DRAGONS!' Give me a break! How could a guy like that become a saint?" Sabo shrugged in response and downed the glass of orange juice he had sitting nearby._

"_The guy's a nut job" he replied, spinning the empty glass on its side. At that moment, Makino entered the room, carrying a barrel of ale._

"_Who's a nut job?" she asked as she placed down the barrel underneath the counter._

"_That weird saint guy" Luffy explained. Makino gave an 'ah' in recognition and nodded in acceptance._

"_He is quite odd…but Mr. Dragon needs the support of the fellowship of the celestial dragons" At Luffy and Sabo's confusion, she sighed and continued speaking "The celestial dragons are a powerful order with contacts all over the world. Our small town is venerable to threats from raiders and other rival forces but, as the celestial dragons are so powerful, no-one would dare attack an island protected by them, for fear of retribution. That's why we need his support" Sabo and Luffy sighed and nodded in agreement. It made sense…sorta…_

"_But why don't we just fight off all these bad guys when they come after us? Isn't my dad one of the most powerful mages in the world?" Luffy asked with a wide smile "He's taught me all kinds of magic. Shouldn't he be able to beat everyone up?" For a moment, Makino was silent. Her eyes seemed saddened slightly by Luffy's words. Slowly, she shook her head._

"_Luffy…your dad may be strong but I doubt he's strong enough to protect a whole island from as many possible threats that we have" Makino reasoned._

"_But Dad's the strongest guy there is!" Luffy repeated, feeling incredibly proud of having such a strong father. Makino sighed._

"_You're not listening Luffy" she said softly. Unfortunately, Luffy was not focusing on her so Makino was forced to speak louder to attract the boy's attention "Look Luffy, you may think your Dad is a super hero or something but…in the end, he's still only human…and humans aren't invincible"_

"_Yeah, but my Dad is" Luffy replied as a wide smile crossed his face. Makino sighed in defeat and left into the backroom. Nami watched her leave and heard her mutter something softly under her breath._

"_I'm sorry Luffy but if you keep raising your Dad up in a pedestal, it's only going to make his fall a lot worse if he ever does something wrong" Nami was completely confused at this but before she could think too much about it, her mind once more went blank._

* * *

"_These jumps are really getting annoying now" Nami thought to herself bitterly as she opened her eyes once more. The dizzying feeling in her mind was fading but Nami could tell it would come back again. It had faded and returned so many times now that she was beginning to question how she had even gotten into this mess in the first place. It had of course been the idiot mage using some sort of magic on her…again…that had put her in this situation. She really needed to teach him the meaning of personal space one day. Suddenly, Nami was shocked back into reality as she realised that despite opening her eyes, the area around her was still dark. Looking around, Nami realised that the reason it was dark was because of the large amount of dark clouds forming over head. At the other side of the village, Nami could just about make out in the large shadows the silhouettes of three small people walking around outside._

"_I knew we shouldn't have gone out today" Nami heard a small girl's voice bellow on the wind. The figure to the right of the girl laughed._

"_Come on Silk, admit it. You had fun. Besides, Zoro told me we wouldn't get another chance to see that Hercules Beetle if we didn't see it today" an energetic voice replied. Nami's eyes quickly became accustomed to the dark and she realised that it was none other than Luffy, Sabo and Silk walking along in the empty street._

"_You do realise Zoro was probably lying just to make you look like an idiot right?" Sabo argued. Luffy pouted at this causing Silk to giggle._

"_Shut up…" he muttered. Sabo laughed and then walked closer towards a house on the left hand side of the street _

"_Silk, we're here…you'll have to say goodbye to your 'boyfriend' now" Silk and Luffy blushed once more and glared at Sabo. The boy laughed despite the complaints of his friends and leaned against a nearby wall to wait for his sister. Silk shook her head at her brother's antics but then turned to face Luffy. The two stood still for a moment staring at each other and then they both looked away with a smile and a blush._

"_So…Silk…" the raven haired boy began. The blonde haired girl smiled and looked at the floor, twiddling with her hair._

"_Luffy…I'll see you…" she started, however, before she could finish, it happened…_

_Out of nowhere, a large net flew through the sky, as if shot by a cannon. Silk turned to see it but couldn't react as soon, she was trapped. Luffy moved to help her but was met by a fist which struck the young boy's head hard. Luffy fell to the floor clutching his skull as the man who had attacked him walked past the young boy, focusing on the girl trapped in the net._

"_Lord Jalmack, that was an excellent shot sir" the man said, adjusting his sunglasses as he picked up the net. Silk lashed out with her foot but the man ignored the captured girl. A loud laughter attracted Nami's attention and she turned away from the scene with a shocked expression. At the other side of the street stood the world noble Nami had seen before. As soon as she noticed Jalmack though, her eyes widened and for the first time since she'd fallen asleep, a cold chill flowed up her back. Jalmack's eyes were pure red and bloodshot…just like that man from her dream…but it couldn't be, Jalmack looked at least forty years old…how in hells name could the eyes of the guy from her dream be the same as this old man? Nami shook her head and then realised that Silk had been carried away from the group and now, Sabo was leaping up to attack the man._

"_LEAVE HER ALONE!" The boy cried as he kicked forwards with his leg. The man ignored Sabo's command and grabbed the child's leg, throwing him roughly to the ground. Sabo groaned in pain as the man walked past him, ignoring the screams of Silk. Nami gasped and ran forward in a desperate attempt to save the young girl. Unfortunately, Nami only managed to pass through the man's body, as if she were a ghost._

"_LUFFY! SABO!" Silk cried as the man and his world noble walked away from the boys._

"_Such a spirited girl…she will be useful" Jalmack announced with a sickeningly wide grin. Nami merely stood still, watching the scene unfolds with wide eyes. She couldn't do anything. She felt so useless. All she could do was watch as Jalmack and his guard walked away cackling._

_Instead, Nami decided to run over to Luffy and Sabo. She couldn't stop Jalmack and she couldn't save Silk. She wasn't even really there…but they were._

_Those two brave and adventurous boys on the floor were the only ones who could help Silk now. Nami flopped to her knees and reached down to grasp Luffy's hand. Once more, her fingers phased through the young boys hand._

"_Come on Luffy…" the orange haired navigator thought with a mournful gaze down at Luffy "Save her…" At that thought, Nami was surprised to see Luffy stir. The boy shifted his weight until he was now sitting up and his dark eyes glanced around the street._

"_Silk…" he groaned in pain. The young raven haired boy slowly lifted himself up off the ground, staggering to his feet. As Luffy struggled to get steady, Nami realised that there was a large bruise on the side of the young boy's face. Luffy finally managed to stay on his feet and looked over towards his friend on the floor. Sabo was still lying on the floor, looking like a beached whale. Luffy bent down at Sabo's side and shook him gently._

"_Come on, wake up" he called, begging to the unconscious child on the floor that he was still alive. At Luffy's pleas, Sabo groaned and slowly moved to sit up. Luffy smiled happily as the brown haired boy began to wake up._

"_SABO!" he cried with joy. Sabo heaved himself up from the floor and looked over towards Luffy._

"…_Where's…Silk?" Sabo asked as the boy strained getting to his feet._

"_That weird dragon guy has her. We need to go after her!" Luffy yelled. Sabo, however, responded by grabbing hold of Luffy's arm and pulling him back._

"_Luffy, we couldn't beat those guys! We need to go get help!" Sabo complained. Luffy, however, didn't listen and jerked his arm away from Sabo._

"_You go! Find Dad and tell him about Silk. Whilst you're doing that, I'll find Silk and try and help her" the raven haired boy responded. Sabo attempted to complain but, instead, Luffy ignored him and ran at full speed down the street after Silk and her kidnappers. Sabo tried to stop him but eventually sighed and took off in the opposite direction. Nami stood where she was, glancing between the two children with a worried gaze._

* * *

_Once more, Nami's surroundings blurred and suddenly, she was no longer in the village. Instead, she was now in what looked like a cave. The rocky cavern was lit with a variety of orange flames which revealed the people in the cave more clearly. In the centre of the cave sat a little girl with blonde hair and freckles who had her hands bound behind her back._

"_Let me go!" Silk bellowed glaring towards her captors in the corner "You're gonna be sorry when you get caught!" The men in the corner laughed loudly and Jalmack turned around to face her._

"_Don't worry child" he taunted "Soon that foolish free will of yours will no longer be a problem" Silk's eyes widened as the old man laughed loudly._

"_W-why are you doing this?" she called loudly. In reply, Jalmack grinned._

"_It just so happens that I stumbled upon you by pure coincidence!" he announced "But I think we need all the help that we can get"_

"_We?" Silk questioned_

"_You'll understand soon enough my child" Jalmack muttered under his breath as he held out his palm "Men; prepare the girl for the ceremony!" The men in suits on either side of Jalmack nodded and began to walk forwards towards Silk. The young girl shuffled backwards, her eyes wide with fear as they approached her. Nami noticed the girl on the floor and then closed her eyes as she expected the worst._

"_FLAME CHARM: FLASH BALL!"_

_At the familiar voice, both Nami and Silk looked over towards the entrance to the cave, but were blinded by an incredibly bright light that flashed in the girl's face. The men in suits recoiled from the blinding light. Jalmack even shrieked loudly as the flash of light obscured their vision. The loud flash, however, faded slowly. As the light cleared, the young girl on the floor had disappeared. Nami looked around, attempting to find the girl, until her eyes rested upon a silhouette exiting the cave._

* * *

_In an instant, Nami had shifted from her spot in the cave so she was now standing beside the person leaving the cavern._

"_Great, these stupid jumps are getting more and more frequent" Nami thought as she clutched her head, almost feeling dizzy from the sudden change in scenery. Silk shuddered at the cold chill that embraced her as she was carried out of the cave. Looking up, she could see a bright smile above her._

"_Hey Silk" the voice that had cast the spell whispered. Silk's eyes softened at the words and smiled happily._

"_Luffy!" she said in amazement. The raven haired boy nodded._

"_Don't worry, Sabo said he was going to get my dad so he can come help us. Just let me do this…" Carefully, Luffy placed Silk on the ground behind a rock a small distance away from the cave and untied the ropes around her arms._

"_Okay" Luffy said happily as he pointed his right hand towards the sky "Flame charm: Flare signal!" At Luffy's command, Nami expected a shining bright beacon of fire to ascend into the sky like a bird. Unfortunately, both she, Luffy and Silk were disappointed by the pathetically small ball of light that slowly ascend into the sky, much more like a balloon than a bird._

"_You've got to be…kidding me" Luffy muttered with wide eyes. Silk shook her head and sighed._

"_Luffy, those guys were trying to do something bad. We should get out of here now!" she explained. Luffy nodded in reply and quietly stood up. Glancing around, he noticed the dark forest that lay not too far from the cliff. In any other circumstance, he could have run down there easily…but with those guys from the cave looking for them, it would be a huge risk just to get over there. Hesitantly, Luffy glanced behind the rock, scanning for a sign of the guards. The cave was empty with nothing but the bright fires shining in the cavern._

"_Silk…we can make a run for it…" Luffy whispered back to the girl at his side "It's risky but if we run, we can get into the trees over there"_

"_Are you sure?" Silk asked nervously. Luffy nodded in response._

"_We don't really have a choice…we'll run for it in one…two…THREE!"_

_As Luffy said the final word, he left the area behind the rock and grabbed hold of Silk's wrists. The young girl was pulled along quickly by Luffy's grip. Luffy's feet bounded forwards with extremely quick footsteps. Luffy ignored Silk's pants for breathe as he dragged her along towards the dark forest. As they ran, a loud yell bellowed out from behind them. One of Jalmack's men had spotted them. Luffy and Silk didn't bother turning around and instead, kept running into the forest. Branches and tree trunks whizzed by as Luffy and Silk began sprinting through the forest. Nami followed closely behind, floating like a ghost behind the two fleeing children. Luffy and Silk continued to run through the forest, calls of animals sounding out all around them. With every step, Luffy could tell that their enemies were gaining…but, with every step, they also got closer to the village…closer to freedom…and closer to help…_

_After what felt like hours of none stop running, Luffy and Silk finally emerged from the mass of trees, into a small clearing. Ahead of the two, the spirit Nami could see the edge of a cliff. Luffy collapsed to his knees, shaking nervously._

"_No…" he mumbled, staring at a loss for words at the edge of the land that lay before him. There was no-where to run. They were trapped. Luffy quickly turned around as the bushes began to rustle. He immediately ran over to Silk and pulled her so she was standing behind him. The trees parted and then a guard stepped out of the bushes, looking forward to Luffy with a large and sinister grin._

"_I've found them!" he yelled loudly, no doubt calling to Jalmack and another guard. A few seconds later, the other guard and Jalmack both emerged from behind the first guard. Jalmack grinned and chuckled loudly at the two children._

"_Well well well…" the old and fat man said laughing "my dear child, it appears you've brought your little playmate here" Luffy growled angrily, keeping a hand out to keep Silk behind him. The blonde haired girl shivered under the gaze of the smirking saint "Good" Jalmack commented with glee "I suppose this means that he can join our little ritual if he so wishes…"_

"_SHUT UP!" Luffy bellowed angrily "WHAT WERE YOU DOING TO SILK?" Jalmack chuckled, almost insanely as he watched the small raven haired boy grit his teeth._

"_That would be our little ritual" he explained "Once she is in position inside the circle, I will begin the incantation and the celestial dragons will bless her. They will strip her off her weak emotions and that frail innocent mind and she will become one of us, a being blessed with the heavenly shade…" Luffy's eyes widened slightly. It was obvious to Nami that Luffy hadn't understood too much of what Jalmack had said, but he did know it wasn't good. Therefore, Luffy immediately became more hostile, clenching his fist tightly and shuffling away from their new enemies._

"_I won't let you…" the raven haired child shouted loudly. Jalmack once more cackled with glee._

"_I don't think you understand your situation kid" he replied "You're outnumbered and outmatched" Luffy, however, didn't listen and instead, swung his right arm forward._

"_Flame charm: fire ball!" the young child shouted. The boy shook with rage and began to sweat as the required magic energy massed in his hand. A small fire ball suddenly appeared in Luffy's palm and he threw it as hard as he could towards the guards. Jalmack's eyes widened at the fire ball and the large man dived on the floor, barely dodging the fireball as it flew over his head. The fire ball exploded on the wood of the trees behind Jalmack and the wood burst into flames. Jalmack heaved himself off the floor and growled angrily._

"_Men! Get the child! Teach him to never attack me again!" he yelled. The guards nodded at their master's commands and ran towards the foolish boy who had dared to strike the saint. Luffy was weakened by his attack and unprepared as one of the guards raced up to him and grabbed his hair and lifted Luffy off the floor._

"_Show respect" the guard warned as he threw Luffy roughly to the floor. The young boy yelled in pain as he hit the floor and even more so when the same guard planted his foot firmly against his head. The guard laughed boisterously at Luffy's pain, missing the dark aura radiating from in front of him. Suddenly, the rising energy caught his attention and he looked away from the raven haired child on the floor and looked towards the young girl, who was currently glaring at him angrily._

"_GET…AWAY…FROM LUFFY!" the young girl yelled angrily, thrusting both of her palms forward. As she did so, her hands began to radiate with a bright light._

"_THUNDER CHARM" Silk thundered, her eyes glowing bright white for one moment "LIGHTING SHOT!" As Silk finished her call, a large lightning bolt shot out from her palms and soared forwards into the guard's face. The guard shrieked in pain as the electricity flowed into his body and then, with one last grunt, he fell backwards onto the floor. The group's eyes widened. How had such a little girl just performed such a powerful magic spell?_

_Silk was frozen in place for a moment before what she had done finally seemed to sink in and then her eyes widened too. That lightning bolt…had it just…killed that man? She hadn't meant to…she didn't…it wasn't…but it was…_

_Silk felt her whole body shake violently and then she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Luffy, noticing Silk panicking, quickly sprung up off the floor and ran over to her. His head was ringing from the pain but he ignored it and embraced the small girl._

"_Silk" he whispered softly in her ear "what's wrong? Come on Silk, get up. Everything's all right" Unfortunately, Luffy knew everything wasn't alright and he turned around to growl at the approaching Jalmack._

"_Interesting specimen" The fat man commented with a sick little grin "she will serve our cause well…"_

"_OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Luffy yelled, stepping in front of Silk and spreading both arms out as if shielding her. Jalmack appeared to be unperturbed by this development and instead chuckled quietly._

"_That, my dear boy, is the idea…" The saint announced removing a pistol from his cloak and pointing at Luffy. Silk and the ghost Nami both gasped loudly at the sight of the gun. The raven haired child froze in place, shuddering from the cold piercing gaze he was getting from the supposed saint. His eyes were a shining red colour, as if bloodshot but that only seemed to add to Jalmack's insanity._

"_Wait! Wait! Wait!" Luffy finally shouted, waving his arms from side to side "don't I get a last request?" Jalmack laughed at this, tightening the grip on his pistol._

"_This isn't like your children stories" the fat saint explained "in real life, last requests are for weaklings…" Luffy's eyes were wide with fear. His mouth was drying up…_

"_Then I suppose we'll give you the same courtesy" Jalmack's eyes widened as a new voice appeared. Before the saint could react, he was hit in the face by a strong wind, sending him flying into a tree near his other guard. Luffy looked upwards and smiled widely. Standing next to him were Dragon, Shanks, Ivankov and Kuma. The four men looked over towards Saint Jalmack and smiled at the Saint's shocked expression. At the new threat, Jalmack's guard ran out of the shelter of the trees near to Ivankov._

"_Flame charm: fire ball" the guard shouted as he launched the attack. The Okama, however, countered by kicking the guard in his stomach multiple times, all whilst singing a small tune._

"_**OH COME MY WAY! EVERY DAY!~**__" Ivankov sang loudly with each hit. The guard keeled over and fell to the floor. Dragon and Shanks were still watching the celestial dragon saint shaking with fright at their presence, whilst Kuma immediately began tending to Silk. She seemed calmer now with the friendly giant beside her but her crying was, unfortunately, still evident. Luffy was soon beside her, grasping her hand to show he was there. Soon, Nami found herself smiling. The adults were here now; everything was going to be okay. With both of the children safe, Dragon began to speak._

"_Jalmack! It's over. What ever you were planning has failed…if you swear to leave our island in peace then you may leave" the raven haired man announced. Nami's eyes widened and she turned to Dragon with surprise on her face._

"_Leave?" she thought "this man tried to kill your son and you're saying he can just leave? Why are…"_

"_Yeah! YOU HEAR THAT WEIRDO! START RUNNING!" At the sound of the new voice, everyone turned around to see none other than Sabo running towards them. Whilst Luffy and Silk both smiled at the older boy's presence, Dragon was obviously irritated by it._

"_Sabo! I told you to stay down at the village!" he yelled. Sabo laughed loudly as he continued to run towards the group, ignoring Dragon's command._

"_Come on! I thought you guys could use some back-"_

_The loud sound of a gunshot echoed through the area. Luffy and Silk's eyes widened at the sight before them. Ivankov had to grab Kuma before the man raced forwards towards Jalmack and tore him limb from limb. Dragon and Shanks couldn't move, almost as if the act they had seen had them glued to the spot. Nami felt a gasp of shock escape from her mouth, despite the fact she couldn't speak. The smile on Sabo's face vanished. It was replaced by a look of confusion as the bullet shot through his chest. For a moment, Sabo remained standing completely still…then, he tumbled to the right, falling down the large cliff and plunging into the water below._

_Silence fell._

"_FLAME CHARM: INFERNO SHOT!" Neither Dragon nor Shanks expected the young raven haired child to shout those words and were therefore, almost caught off guard as a huge spear of flame flew past them and hit Jalmack straight through the stomach. Nami noticed the flame and looked away from where Sabo had once been to inspect the new event. The saint screamed loudly as the flame engulfed his entire body. Before Jalmack could move, Luffy launched another flame spear towards him. Shanks and Dragon were completely taken aback at the child's magical power as more flame spears flew threw the air, each one hitting Sabo's killer._

"_YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD!" Luffy repeated angrily as with each word, he threw forward another spear of fire. By now, the burning saint was no longer moving, lying down with a tree keeping him upright …but Luffy still didn't stop…_

"_YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD!"_

_With each curse, another flame spear shot out and hit Jalmack, reducing the corpse into charred remains._

"_YOU BASTARD! YOU…"_

"_Luffy…"_

_The raven haired child froze as he felt the delicate tap on his shoulder. Tears fell from his eyes as he stared at where Jalmack had once been, fixated on his target. Nami hadn't noticed his tears…nor had she noticed her own ghostly water droplets. Slowly, Luffy turned around to see who had grabbed his shoulder. The young blonde haired girl on the floor was crying softly. Her eyes watering as she looked at Luffy._

"_Please…please stop…" Silk said softly gripping his shoulder. Luffy was still for a moment but then, finally, he felt the tears return once more and he collapsed onto the floor, allowing Silk to hold him close as he let out his tears. She too was crying as well but the girl was admirably more focused on Luffy's sadness than her own. The clearing was still for the moment, with only the chorus of sobs and wails to be heard._

_Shanks was the first to move. He reached down and picked up Luffy in his arms. Silk attempted to keep a hold of the boy but Kuma picked her up as well and the two children were now weeping louder than ever before, into the chest of their respective adults._

"_I'm talking Luffy back to Makino's tavern…" Shanks mumbled, turning around and walking away. He didn't look for Dragon's permission and, from the look on Shank's face; Nami could tell he didn't want it. Shanks was followed by Kuma and the two soon left the clearing. Dragon didn't move for a moment. He turned to Ivankov with hopeful eyes. The cross dresser didn't say anything._

"_I couldn't kill him…" Dragon said hesitantly "If…if I had…there would have been a worldwide incident…with Jalmack dead…the brotherhood would have come after this island...they would kill everyone…"_

"_Was that self preservation worth watching your own son go into a frenzied rage and kill a man in cold blood because you didn't have the guts to?" Ivankov asked, his eyes cold and desolate as he looked at Dragon. Dragon didn't reply and was silently staring at the ground._

"_You know" Ivankov added as he began to walk away "sometimes…it's better to be a dead proud leader than a tortured humble servant" With that, the okama left the clearing and Dragon to his thoughts. Nami didn't know what to say. Her eyes were focused on the raven haired man but soon, she too felt the urge to leave. Dragon sighed loudly and glanced up at the sky. He needed to be alone..._

* * *

_Nami was glad when the scene around her jumped away once more. This time, she was on a beach with the sun rising peacefully over head. Nami was stunned by the sheer beauty of the bright sand and sea and, despite the tears for Sabo still in her eyes, she smiled. Suddenly, she realised that Luffy was actually walking beside her towards a figure standing on the beach gazing out into the ocean. The ghost Nami was quiet as she watched Luffy approach the figure, then stop beside him._

"_Where is she?" he asked. Dragon looked down at his son, his eyes stern._

"_She who?" he questioned._

"_Silk" Dragon flinched at the name and shifted his gaze back to the sea._

"_I…I sent her away…" It looked as if Luffy's world had just ended the way he stared at his father._

"_W-why?" the young boy asked, bewildered by what he had just been told._

"_She saw her own brother die and she killed a man for you…no child should have to experience that…I sent her parents and her far away…in a hope that she can recover…"_

"_What about me?"_

"_You don't seem to be effected by killing Jalmack…" Dragon concluded, staring down at his son with a glare "you looked like you enjoyed it…"_

"_Shut up…"_

"_I' m just telling you what I saw"_

"_You wouldn't know what you saw…you weren't there when Silk needed you…when I needed you…"_

"_I did as much as I could…"_

"_WELL THAT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH!" Dragon turned to his son and hid his surprise behind a veil of emotionless expressions. Luffy was angry. It was clear to see. The boy was acting as if he'd just been told he was going to die soon "SHE COULD HAVE STAYED! WE COULD HAVE HELPED HER…" the boy continued in frustration "__**I **__COULD HAVE HELPED HER!" Dragon was silent as he gazed at Luffy and then, he finally turned away._

"_I'm sorry Luffy…"_

"_No…you're not…" Luffy retorted, glaring at his father with a gaze full of rage. With that, Luffy turned around and skulked back to the village, across the smooth sand._

"_Luffy…" the boy stopped at his father's call "someday…you'll learn that you can't save everyone…" Luffy shook his head._

"_I think I've already learned that from you…" Luffy turned once more to his father with a serious expression. Dragon ignored him. Luffy sighed and walked away. The distance between father and son continued to increase with every step Luffy took…_

* * *

"I have three kings! Ha! Beat that Zoro!"

"Hmm…that's gonna be difficult to beat…I've only got two pairs…"

"Ha! I win! What are they Zoro?"

"Well…there's one pair of Aces…and another pair of Aces…"

"…you cheated…"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Robin, did Zoro cheat?"

"Don't bring her into this"

"Actually captain, he took the aces when he was scratching his foot. They were hidden in his shoe"

"HA! I knew it! I win!"

"Hey, there's nothing in the rules against cheating!"

"Yes there is! That's the whole reason we have rules!"

Nami's eyes shot open and she sprung to a sitting position. She was sweating and panting like crazy and the second she woke up, Robin immediately moved next to her.

"Nami, calm down" she said softly as she placed her hands on the young woman's shoulders. With Robin's help, Nami finally calmed down and glanced over to Luffy. Instead of looking towards her, Luffy continued to play his card game with Zoro. The green haired man, on the other hand, was looking to Nami with a smile, glad she had woken up. Slowly, Nami scrambled to her feet and turned back to Robin.

"Where are we?" she asked rubbing her eyes.

"Not far from Commi Island" Robin informed her, pointing into the distance, where the outline of an island could be seen on the horizon "the wind was rather calm last night so we didn't travel as fast as the night before" Nami nodded in understanding and once more turned to look at Luffy. Seeing that she was no longer needed, Robin walked back to her deckchair, where her book was currently waiting for her. Zoro looked away from Nami and focused back on the game, already predicting the action the orange haired woman would take. As expected, Nami walked over to Luffy and stood over him.

"Luffy…I'm sor-"

"Don't bother" Luffy muttered looking up at her with a small smile "you know a bit about me now right? I guess that means we're even" Nami smiled in return but shook her head with a laugh.

"You've kidnapped me, dragged me to a completely different island and last night, you knocked me out and did…something to me that let me see your memories. Luffy, we are nowhere near even!" Luffy shrugged and smiled.

"Had to try" he said happily, before turning to inspect the island in the distance "you better get ready" he advised "We should be ready to dock in ten minutes" Nami nodded in response and slowly made her way to the cabin. Before she entered, however, she paused for a moment and looked back at the three mages. Luffy and Zoro were starting a new game of cards, whilst Robin was engrossed in her book. These guardians of hers were…interesting.

"_You'll make the right choice"_

That was what Makino had said…and now, Nami was sure she had made her choice on what to do next…

"Hey look, there's a ship coming into port"

"That's odd, we don't usually get visitors"  
"Maybe they're part of that group that came here before"

"In that case, they're our enemies!"

"QUICK, GET SOME WEAPONS!"

"GENZO! LOOK, WE'VE GOT VISITORS"

At the loud shout, Genzo emerged from the bar and looked out to the sea, one of his arms being raised to shield his eyes from the sun, whilst the other was actually in a sling. He growled angrily and limped forward towards the dock.

"Dad, where do you think you're going?" Genzo didn't turn around as a girl with blue hair called after him. Genzo wasn't the only person who was angry at this point. Other town members had grabbed axes and shovels and were carrying them over to the dock. By the time the group had arrived, the boat was already docked and the crew had already disembarked. A raven haired boy was tying the boat securely to the port, whilst a green haired man was helping him. A black haired woman was standing beside the two with…

"Nami!" The orange haired woman on the pier turned around and she then smiled widely at the sight of Genzo and quickly, the two ran towards each other. Genzo pulled her into a one handed hug and Nami laughed happily at seeing her father once more.

"Dad, I'm back" she announced. Genzo's eyes began to water as he held the girl closer.

"Where have you been?" he asked her, before turning to look at Robin and Zoro, who had stood up and were now standing nearby. Luffy was finishing tying the boat to the pier with a rope (that was getting more and more knotted the more Luffy tried to tie it).

"Who are these people?" Genzo asked, looking at the group with confusion.

"They're…just some friends, as for where I've been…it's been a LONG story" Nami began to explain, nervously shuffling out of her father's possessive hug "Where's Nojiko?"

"Nami?" At the mentioned name, the blue haired woman emerged through the crowd and stared in shock at the orange haired woman standing before her.

"You idiot! We've been worried sick about you!" Nojiko shouted, running towards Nami and almost bowling her over in another embrace. Nami laughed and hugged Nojiko back. The two sisters parted for a moment and then, Nojiko exchanged a hurried glance with the other members of the crew "who are these guys?" she asked. Nami sighed.

"Like I said, long story" she repeated, a wide smile still on her face "it's great to be home again! Where's Bellemere?" At the mention of the name, the whole crowd behind Nojiko and Genzo gasped quietly and then looked down at the floor. Nojiko's face paled and her eyes widened, whilst Genzo clenched his good fist and looked down at the floor, as if seeking assistance from the gravel to answer the question. Robin and Zoro both exchanged confused looks, whilst Luffy stood up and looked over at Nami.

"Please…"he mumbled to himself "please don't say it…don't say it" Luffy's pleas, however, were unheard by the crowd and his crew. At the silence, Nami finally addressed everyone once more.

"Well, where is she? Is she busy at the café? Is she tending to my tangerine grove? Silence followed this question and Nami's smiled faded, changing into an expression of surprise.

"Nami…" Genzo said with deep dread in his voice "Bellemere…is dead…"

* * *

_**To be continued in Chapter 6: Choices**_

_**And after all the waiting I put you through, there's now no preview and no magical analysis theatre because, I feel it'll ruin the mood…**_

_**Ain't I a stinker…**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey everyone, Shadowonthewall6 here bringing you not one, not two but three updates today! So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this new (and slightly delayed) chapter of Do You Believe in Magic**_

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Choices**_

Nami's eyes widened and she shivered with a shocked expression. Her face turned white. Robin and Zoro were silent and they turned to Nami and watched nervously as the orange haired woman remained frozen, shivering and shaking with baited breath. Luffy looked away from Nami and clenched his fists tightly. The mage's deep scowl was noticed by Zoro who could see the pain hidden behind Luffy's expression.

"This was the vision wasn't it?" the swordsman mumbled. The raved haired man gave a reluctant nod in reply. He hated this. Slowly, Luffy's eyes looked over towards Nami, who was shuddering and shaking uncontrollably. She looked as if she was going to fall to her knees any moment now.

"W-w-what?" Nami asked, glancing between Genzo and Nojiko "this is a joke right? You're pulling one over on me right? Payback for me being gone this whole time right?" Nojiko and Genzo didn't say a word but the truth was written all over their faces. Bellemere was indeed dead. Nami just stood there, her heartbeat dropping to almost a silent occasional bump in her chest. Her dark chocolate eyes were beginning to water. At first Robin stepped forward to comfort her, but Zoro stopped her with his outstretched arm. Without warning, Nami's legs gave way and she fell onto her knees. Genzo and Nojiko moved to help her but Nami didn't respond. Her eyes were watching the floor, focusing on the dark patches on the dirt made by her tears hitting the ground.

"No" she mumbled, starting to shake her head. This started off gently at first then, suddenly, she began shaking her head in a more frantic and desperate manner, beating the floor with her fist as she continued to voice her denial "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

She couldn't believe it.

She WOULDN'T believe it.

Someone who she loved so dearly was dead.

Her own mother was dead.

Bellemere was dead.

Tears continued to fall from Nami's face, each droplet hitting the floor and scattering into the tiniest of water fragments.

She needed someone to comfort her.

She needed someone to hold her right now.

Genzo and Nojiko were of course gently embracing her on both sides but…

She didn't want them.

She was being selfish.

She wanted Bellermere to hold her, to comfort her and then to tell her everything was going to be alright.

But Bellemere wasn't here anymore and everything wasn't alright so the tears continued to fall, each one more resilient than the last.

"But…but how?" Nami asked, whimpering as she pounded the ground with her fist. Genzo was at first reluctant to answer but, eventually, he found the courage to speak, placing a reassuring hand on Nami's shoulder.

"Bellemere…and I were…attacked by two strange men and…"

Nami didn't need to hear the rest of the story.

She knew.

Suddenly that vision from the other day was no longer just a nightmare.

In a matter of seconds, she could feel it.

There was a feeling building up inside her.

Something was controlling the sadness; something was building on top of it, becoming stronger and stronger with each passing second.

It was rage.

In an instant, Nami was on her feet. The tears remained in her cold dark eyes, falling softly down her cheeks.

"WHO DID IT?" Nami shouted, turning to her with a scowl "WHY? WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO HURT BELLEMERE? WHAT DID SHE EVER DO TO THEM? WHY DID THEY KILL HER?"

"Because of you" the voice shocked everyone on the docks and they all turned to look at the person who had spoke. Luffy was staring at Nami, though no-one watching truly knew if he was because of the way the straw-hat on his head shadowed his eyes.

"E…EXCUSE ME?" Nami shouted towards the straw-hat vagabond. Luffy looked away as she met his gaze, feeling the full raw emotion of the rage in her eyes.

"Nami…I'm sorry" Luffy mumbled sadly "I wasn't fast enough…I didn't find you in time…"  
"What are you talking about?" Nami asked, her lip quivering as Luffy spoke. She still hadn't stopped crying and Luffy was finding it painful to have to watch her tears.

"I told you remember? When I came here looking for you? Yami was sending some puppets here for you and that's why we had to leave? Well…they must have…looked around for you and failing that…they must have…done this"  
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?" Nami suddenly yelled, strolling towards Luffy, glaring at him.

"…I thought they'd try and follow us…but I found out last night, from your nightmare that wasn't the case"  
"So it's your fault?" Nami shouted once more, glaring accusingly at Luffy. He didn't reply "WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME HERE? NOTHING LIKE THIS EVER HAPPENED UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP HERE! YOU BROUGHT ALL THIS HERE!"

"They would have found you sooner or later and then you would be the one who was dead" Luffy explained, his eyes on the floor.  
"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU STAND AND FIGHT AGAINST THEM?" Nami protested.  
"We couldn't take that risk. You're too important to lose" Luffy mumbled.  
"AND BELLEMERE WASN'T IMPORTANT? WHO DECIDES THAT SHE'S NOT IMPORTANT? YOU?"  
"You can't always save everyone" Luffy stated, looking upwards at Nami with a pair of sad eyes.  
"YOU'D KNOW THAT BETTER THAN ANYONE WOULDN'T YOU!" Nami shrieked in return, tears dropping gently from her eyes as she spoke.

For a moment, there was complete silence.

Then, Nami turned on her heel and began to walk away.

"Nami…" Luffy called her name, walking forward and reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder, only for her to shrug it off.

"Just…just get out of my sight" Nami growled "leave this island and never comeback. Forget about me…because I sure as hell am gonna try to forget about you…"

"Nami, you know I can't do that" Luffy said, taking another step closer towards her "you're the…"  
"THE WAVE? THE CHOSEN ONE? WELL, I NEVER ASKED TO BE!" Nami thundered in return, her voice straining as she yelled loudly "I NEVER WANTED TO HAVE THIS GREAT RESPONCIBILITY THRUST UPON ME, I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO PROTECT ME AND I CERTAINTLY NEVER ASKED FOR MY MOTHER TO DIE BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID PROPHECY AND A MAN IN HIS TATTERED STRAW-HAT! JUST GET OUT OF MY LIFE!" With that, Nami turned around and began to run away. Luffy tried to run after her only for Genzo to stand in his way.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?" he yelled.  
"I haven't done anything!" Luffy replied angrily "but those two murderers will if they find her! YOU HAVE TO LET ME TALK TO HER!"

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled, attracting the gaze of the raven haired man "let her go. She just needs time to calm down. She's lost her mother and she's not thinking clearly" At first, Luffy was silent. Then, he sighed loudly before reluctantly heading back over towards Zoro. As he reached the green haired swordsman, he stopped for a moment and looked back. The rest of the town was now glaring at him but Luffy didn't care. He could still see Nami walking off in the distance with a blue haired woman comforting her. Luffy sighed once more, turning away to help Zoro unload the supplies.

Zoro noticed the lone tear going down his cheek but said nothing.

* * *

Silence was always a bad thing to Nojiko. It was something she always hated. She liked things loud and bold. Not exactly chaotic noise but Nojiko liked the air to be filled with some sort of sound so it wouldn't seem empty. Right now, the air definitely felt empty. Nami was sitting at her kitchen table in complete silence, staring at the drink in her hands. She hadn't said a single thing after her fight with that straw-hat guy when she had come back home and it made Nojiko nervous. It had been a whole hour since she had said anything. Nojiko really wasn't too sure what to say. With a sigh, Nojiko finally sat down opposite Nami. It wasn't healthy for her sister to just hold all her feelings inside.

"So…" Nojiko finally started "where were you last night?" At first, Nami was silent at the question, her eyes still watching the swirling patterns in the hot chocolate in her hand. If there was one thing Nojiko was good at it was making hot chocolate and so far, despite the fact Nami hadn't taken a sip yet, she was enjoying the warmth it was giving off.

"Come on Nami" Nojiko said, frowning and looking at her sister's melancholy state "you can tell me right? I'm your sister. If you can't tell me, who could you tell?"  
"Bellemere" Nami muttered. Nojiko's eyes widened and it took Nami a few seconds to realise what she had said "Nojiko, I'm sorry…I just…"  
"You miss her?" Nojiko asked. Nami nodded her head. Nojiko made note of the fact that her eyes were still watering and sighed softly "how do you think I feel? I miss her too…"

"I know" Nami replied softly.

Silence once again flooded the room. It remained there for a moment before Nojiko spoke up once more.

"Nami, please, tell me…"  
"His name is Luffy" Nami replied, wiping away the tears in her eyes with her sleeve "Monkey D. Luffy" Nojiko felt a smile come to her face. Finally, she was getting some answers.

"He didn't…do anything to you did he?" Nojiko asked carefully, her hand squeezing Nami's gently for support. Nami laughed at the question and smiled.

"No…" she said "Well, I guess if you don't count the kidnapping"

"Kidnapping?" Nojiko's ears perked up immediately at the mention of the word.

"Yeah…well, like he was saying before on the docks, he randomly appeared in my room and he kidnapped me to keep some dark entity from getting me" Nojiko nodded in confusion, beckoning Nami to continue "then, he took me to his ship where he introduced me to his crew"  
"The green haired hottie and the chick with the black hair?" Nojiko asked for confirmation. Nami nodded.

"Yeah, that's Zoro and Robin. I met them and…wait, hottie?"  
"Keep going Nami" Nojiko mumbled, ignoring the odd look her sister was giving her.

"Well…Luffy told me that I was some kind of chosen one and that I had to go with him…"

"If that is the kid's best pick up line, it's no wonder you left him" Nojiko joked with a grin. Nami growled angrily at Nojiko.

"Shut up!" she cried "he was telling the truth…at least, he seemed to think he was. He said I was destined to help him on his quest and defeat a great evil. He said he was my guardian"  
"Again, horrible pick up lines" Nojiko noted before allowing Nami to continue.

"They weren't pick up lines…at least, I don't think they were. He sounded pretty sincere…and he knew Bellemere's name, he said it was linked to some prophecy or something"  
"He did his research" Nojiko mumbled "sounds like he really liked you and just wanted a date…"

"That's not it" Nami said, practically yelled at Nojiko "he knew magic and illusions and…I trusted him…" Nojiko didn't reply. She was a little shocked by Nami's outburst. Usually, Nami never got emotional about anything…though in hind sight, Bellemere had just passed away and her emotions were all in a mess.

"It'd be best if you got some fresh air" Nojiko said, gently tapping Nami's arm as she stood up "clear your head for a bit" Nami was still for a moment, before nodding.

"I…I guess you're right…" she said with a reluctant smile "a lot has happened over the past few days…" Nojiko took another glance at Nami before she headed for the door. Her little sister was still crying.

It was obviously going to take time for her to recover.

Hell, it was going to take time for everyone to recover.

Bellemere was an amazing person after all.

And she would be missed…

* * *

They had missed.

They hadn't found her.

They had made a compromise though.

They had found her mother and killed her.

Then they had split up, he had remained behind, whilst Hideki had supposedly left the island.

He had remained just in case...

And it had payed off.

At the sign of first light, he hadn't sense anything…

But as the day had gone on, he had started to sense it and it had gotten stronger and stronger as the day had advanced…

Until he suddenly smelled it.

It was her scent.

It smelled like good magic.

Without another hesitation, Arlong grinned and sprinted as fast as he could back to town through the trees.

She was here.

She was as good as dead.

* * *

Genzo was angry. He was having an incredibly horrible day. First off, he had watched his wife die right before his eyes. Then, his daughter had returned with a band of what he could only guess were pirates only to break down on the docks. Now, he had gone into the local tavern for a drink when he had noticed the three pirates who Nami had returned with. Angrily, he skulked over to the group. The green haired man and the woman looked up but the man in the straw-hat did not. Instead, his eyes were glued to the compass on the table. From what Genzo could see, it looked quite ornate, definitely an antique of sorts. The arrow was pointing forwards, but it looked as though it was moving gently to the left, as if it was following something. When Genzo reached the group, he gripped the raven haired man's shirt collar. Luffy didn't respond, his eyes still watching the compass.

"What are you doing here?" Genzo asked angrily.

"Waiting" Luffy replied simply, his eyes never once moving from the compass. Genzo growled at this reply. When did this kid get the idea that he could just ignore him? Was it that the straw-hat man thought he was better than Genzo? Genzo didn't know but he didn't care either.

"Waiting for what?" he yelled "I thought Nami told you to leave"  
"Waiting for when I'm needed" Luffy replied "I'm her guardian after all"  
"YOU'RE HER WHAT?" Genzo shouted, tightening his grip on Luffy's collar.

"Her guardian" Luffy repeated calmly "Do you have trouble hearing?"  
"DO I HAVE WHAT?" Genzo asked, becoming more and more enraged by the second.

"Oh, so you do" Luffy muttered. Genzo's patience was just at its limit by now. Luckily, before he decided to do anything, the woman opposite Luffy gently gripped Genzo's arm.

"I'm sorry sir" she said with a smile "Luffy isn't really in the best of moods today"  
"Just who are you people?" Genzo asked, blinking rapidly, as if finally looking at the two properly for the first time.

"I'm Robin and he's Zoro" Robin said politely, gesturing at the swordsman next to her "and you've already met Luffy" Luffy nodded from his spot, his eyes still watching the compass.

"Why are you here then?" Genzo asked Robin, seeing as she was the only one of the group talking. However, as it turned out, Luffy answered before Robin could speak up.

"Nami. She's important. That's why we are here" he said. Genzo now turned to Luffy.

"Why is she important?" Genzo asked. Luffy was about to reply when suddenly, his eyes widened. In that instant, Zoro and Robin twitched slightly, their eyes going to the compass. Genzo noticed this and glanced down at the compass as well. The black arrow on the compass that was pointing towards the west had begun to grow pale and was now a gray colour.

"What does that mean?" Genzo asked. Luffy didn't bother answering. Before Genzo could blink, Luffy was up on his feet and half way towards the door, running faster than Genzo could ever think possible.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" he yelled after him. Luffy didn't reply. Before Robin and Zoro were even out of their seat, he was already outside, sprinting along the street. Without any hesitation, Luffy looked down at the compass in his hands. The eternal compass was pointing straight in front of him. She couldn't be far away. She couldn't be. As Luffy continued to run forwards, he reached into his pocket, removing the box Nami had given him from Makino.

"You better work" he mumbled, taking out the contents of the box before flinging the box itself on the dirt.

As Luffy ran, the compass continued to turn paler…

"Don't worry Nami, I'm on my way…"

* * *

_**To be continued in Chapter 7: On my way**_

_**Until then I'm Shadowonthewall6 and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**_

_**Please review. Positive criticism is welcome.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**I must admit, I've been playing favourites with my stories and, as you might be able to tell, Do You Believe was not top of my list…but seeing how long I've gone without updating this story, I decided I was going to have to write a new chapter for it.**_

_**So, hopefully, this long action packed chapter will make up for the delay. I hope you all enjoy this chapter…even the bitter sweet ending…**_

_**Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to the awesome Inferno 54, who finally managed to get me off my ass and get me writing this again :3 (and apologies in advance for the lack of Luffy's box in this chapter.)**_

_**(R.I.P Luffy's Box Chapter 3~Chapter 6. May he rest in peace. XD)**_

* * *

_**Chapter 7: On my way**_

The streets of Cocoyashi village were filled with villagers bustling to and fro. All of them seemed quite happy as the sun shone down from above, sparkling like a radiant jewel in the sky. The puddles in the street left by the rain the previous night reflected the glorious sunshine like a mirror, illuminating the joyous passers by in the street.

Unfortunately, two people in the crowd did not share the same sentiment. Their footsteps were slow and careful as the two sisters walked silently side by side. As they passed, the villagers would nod at them or give them pitying looks, as if reaching out to try and take their pain away. One man even had to fight off tears as he saw the sorrow written across their faces.

Nojiko hated this. She didn't like being pitied by others and looked at if he was some sort of victim. She was a tough girl and, although she felt sad because of Bellemere's passing, she knew that, eventually, she'd get over it. Nami most likely would too but Nojiko also knew that wasn't why she was being so quiet and melancholy. From what she had heard, her sister was having one hell of a week so far and her mother getting killed was just the tip of the iceberg.

That was only part of the problem.

It was that boy.

It was what he had said back on the docks.

How he had blamed her for the reason of her mother's death.

That was what Nami was feeling distraught about. Nojiko could only imagine the overwhelming guilt Nami was feeling at the prospect of her being the reason for Bellemere's death.

The two sisters were so engulfed in their quiet sadness that they barely noticed a voice shouting after them.

"Hey! Nojiko! Nami!" Whilst Nojiko stopped in her tracks and whirled around, Nami merely stopped in her path, her gaze still fixed on the floor. She wasn't in the mood for talking. Nojiko, however, whirled around and spotted the village doctor running towards her.

"Nako? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Nojiko asked as the doctor approached. Nako slowed his run to a quick walk, panting for air as he neared the two girls.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to check that you two are"  
"Us two? Why wouldn't we be okay?"  
"I've just heard about Bellemere" Nojiko clenched her fist and her fake smile twitched nervously "I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier but I had a huge hangover from yesterday!" Nako explained with a guilty frown "BUT now, I need to find Genzo. Do you know where he is?" At this, Nami turned around towards Nako, finally giving the man her full attention as he spoke.  
"I'm not sure where he is…" Nojiko commented sadly.

"Why?" Nami suddenly asked "what's wrong?" Nako couldn't hide the wide smile on his face as he spoke.

"Well, I've been asking around about who the men looked like who killed Bellemere…and, I think I've seen one of them…"  
"YOU WHAT?" Nami suddenly shouted and, without a moment of hesitation, she raced forwards and grabbed Nako's coat desperately "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE SEEN HIM?"  
"Well, I have" Nako explained simply "they said something about a blue skinned man knocking on Bellemere's door on the middle of the night and I remember spotting that guy earlier today, when I was walking off my hangover this morning"

"WHERE DID YOU SEE HIM!" Nami asked angrily, her brown eyes coming to life with as fire appeared in her eyes. For a moment, Nako looked slightly scared and intimidated when, suddenly, his expression hardened.

"WAIT A MINUTE! Don't think you're going after this guy alone Nami!" the doctor shouted, removing Nami's hands from his coat and taking them in his own. Nami, however, was not taking Nako's words to heart and snapped her hands out of his grip.

"NAKO! THAT BASTARD KILLED MY MOTHER! I WANT HIM TO PAY FOR WHAT HE'S DONE!" she shouted, turning many a head around the three of them to look in her direction. Nako seemed to falter a little and fumbled over his words, before asserting his view with a firm glare.

"Nami, listen, this man is a killer and I know you want revenge…BUT you're also forgetting that he's a cold hearted murderer" Nako lectured "I doubt any of us could take him on if we were alone! We need to make sure we're prepared if we're going to go out there and find this guy…"

"Well, it'd help a lot if he met you halfway, huh?" a deep raspy voice suddenly called from over Nako's shoulder. Immediately, Nako turned around in surprise and both Nami and Nojiko moved over to look at the voice who had spoken. As it turned out, the voice belonged to a tall pale skinned man with a long sharp pointy nose. He wore a furry hat which hid his long flowing mane.

A shark fin stuck out of the man's back and two gills were present on either side of the man's neck. The yellow shirt with black spiked spots he was wearing was open, exposing his muscular chest. A bright red sun tattoo scarred his chest and a second tattoo clung to his arm, which was shaped slightly like a shark. As the man looked down at the three humans, he smiled and his teeth mashed together.

Nami found herself drawn into the bulking assailant's eyes and met their gaze with a shudder. They were pure black except for the red pupils, which glowed with killer intent.

Those eyes…

They were the same ones that the man from her dream had…

"We've been waiting for you…wave…" the large fish-man said with a grunt of joy. Hearing these words and noticing Arlong's interest in Nami, Nako seemed to shift into some sort of fighting stance. This did nothing to aid him as Arlong moved his right arm quickly, slapping Nako out of his way with inhuman strength.

The old doctor let out a loud gasp of pain as he flew into a market stand at the side of the road. Immediately, the street devolved into a panic. Women screamed, men shouted in fear and children cried as they all moved to flee from the figure. Arlong grinned at the chaos and took a step forward. Nami, on impulse, took a step back in retreat.

"Finally…we've found you!" the fish-man laughed "Yami is pleased…now, all I need to do is end your miserable existence and my master will be able to claim this world unchallenged…" Nami found her mouth dry. No words would come. She took another step backwards. Arlong laughed.

"Are you going to run Wave?" the fish-man questioned with joy "Oh please tell me, you are. It's much more fun to kill people when they run…" At first, Nami considered this. She needed to get away from this monster. She wanted revenge…but this man…this thing was too strong for her. It was obvious she was out of her league.

Nami was now wishing more than ever that she'd learned at least a bit of magic before she had come to face to face with her mother's killer. It was then when another thought came into her head.

Nojiko.

Since Arlong's arrival, her sister had stood completely still and had speechlessly watched the mad man's approach. Instantly, Nami lashed out her hand and pulled Nojiko back away from the murderer. Arlong was in a giddy mood today it seemed as he chuckled at this simple notion.

"Get away from her" Nami finally spoke in a firm determined voice.

"I don't want your sister for anything" Arlong replied simply "I don't care about killing her…it's you that I want…" Nami paled a little at this statement but her resolve suddenly became fiercer as she felt her sister grip her hand tightly.

"…Nami…" Nojiko muttered nervously, before turning to face Arlong "Nami is my family and you're not going to do anything to her" Despite these harsh words, it appeared that the girls had forgotten that they were slowly retreating away from the fish-man, their eyes watching him with interest.

"And who's going to stop me? You? Him?" Arlong cast his gaze back to Nako, who was still lying unconscious in a pile of broken wood "I don't think any of you would stand a chance…" Nami clenched her fist at the challenge and, noticing how Nojiko was moving forwards, she stuck out her hand to keep her sister out of harms way. She wasn't going to lose someone else to this monster.

Unfortunately, Nami knew that Arlong was telling the truth. She didn't know how to fight him…but that didn't mean she couldn't try to. She needed a weapon if she was to stand any chance against this new enemy. Slowly, Nami glanced around the market stand for any sign of a weapon but, unfortunately, none lent themselves to her cause. As soon as she looked away, she heard Arlong let out another growl.

"When you're facing me in a battle, it's best not to LOOK AWAY FROM ME!" the fish-man shouted. Nami quickly looked back at Arlong, but the fish-man was already racing forwards.

"Motion charm: SHARK TOOTH DRILL!" Arlong announced, suddenly moving quicker as purple sparks shot out from his feet. Arlong opened his mouth wide, showing his mighty fangs before his entire body began to spin quickly.

Time froze for Nami.

She couldn't dodge his attack.

She was going to die…

Nami closed her eyes tightly shut, as the large shark approached.

Suddenly, a sound echoed out from in front of Nami.

It sounded like Arlong's teeth had finally met some flesh and was now clamping on the bone. Something warm splashed gently across her face. Nami shuddered at the feeling and gently opened her eyes.

Arlong's teeth had indeed bitten into something.

But it wasn't her or Nojiko.

Standing in front of her, there was a man with short messy black hair. Arlong's teeth had sunk into the man's left shoulder and, from what Nami could tell, blood had spurted out of the bite mark. The man's straw-hat was still firmly clamped on his head.

It didn't take much thought to work out who had intercepted the blow.

"…Luffy?" Nami asked her eyes wide in surprise. The straw-hat mage let out a groan in reply, before smiling.

"H-ey Nami" he spluttered out "…h-how are you doing?" Nami couldn't reply. Her eyes were beginning to water as Arlong's teeth tightened their grip on Luffy's shoulder, causing Luffy to cry out in pain once more.

"You think this hurts?" Luffy suddenly asked his voice filled with pure poison "well…SO SHOULD THIS!" without hesitation, Luffy quickly lashed out his leg forwards, striking Arlong straight in the groin. Immediately, the shark man's hold on Luffy dropped and Arlong reared back in pain.

Taking advantage of this, Luffy dashed towards his target and swung his fist straight at Arlong's jaw. The blow connected and Arlong was sent flying backwards down the street. Luffy smiled at his accomplishment, watching the fish-man crash satisfyingly on the floor. The mage panted before, he collapsed down onto his left knee.

"Luffy!" Nami cried, hurrying to the straw-hat mage's side. Surprisingly, Luffy smiled up at her as she crouched down beside him.

"Are you okay?"  
"AM I OKAY?" Nami yelled in surprise "WHAT ABOUT YOU? You just practically took a bullet for me!"  
"Nah, bullets hurt less" Luffy commented, standing to his feet quite shakily, before turning to Nojiko "get her out of here, okay?" Nojiko didn't know how to react, except for nodding. Nami, however, ignored what Luffy was saying and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to inspect the injury.

"Me get away? No, I'm not leaving you, you need a doctor!"  
"Nami, I'm fine" Luffy insisted, pushing her away "now get going" quickly, Luffy's gaze turned back to Arlong, who was standing to his feet.

"No!" Nami replied firmly.

"NAMI! THAT'S AN ORDER!"  
"I don't take orders! ESPECIALLY FROM YOU!"  
"DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU WANTED ME OUT OF YOUR LIFE?" Luffy suddenly snapped, glaring fiercely at her "SO RUN! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Nami once more opened her mouth to argue but Nojiko grabbed her arm before she could react.

"Come on, let's go!" she said, tugging Nami away. Nami, however, fought back against her sister's grasp as Nojiko managed to slowly pull her away from Luffy. As Nami got dragged away, Luffy watched her with a smile, before he casually grabbed his straw-hat and flicked it over to her. It landed on Nami's head and the orange haired woman stared up at Luffy in disbelief from underneath its shade.

"Trust me" he said happily "I'm not going to lose…"

Slowly, Arlong stood to his feet and his red pupils focused on Luffy, who had only now turned back to look at him as well. The fish-man's lip was bleeding and his face was full of rage.

"Who do you think you are?" he snarled at the mage. Luffy smirked at the question.

"I don't believe a name has anything to do with fighting" he replied "All that matters is that you were trying to hurt Nami and I'm not going to let you do that…"

"Oh and why is this girl so important to you?"  
"Because I'm her guardian" Luffy responded simply. Arlong's eyes widened at this claim, before he suddenly began to chuckle.

"You? Shahahahaahahaha! You're her guardian? You're the mage Hideki told me to be careful of? Shahahaha! Man, this is a joke!" Luffy's expression remained calm despite Arlong's laughter, but at the mention of Hideki, his eyebrow rose.

"Hideki? Who's that guy?" Luffy asked in confusion. Arlong, however, laughed at the question.

"I thought names weren't important to you?" Arlong asked with a grin. Luffy growled, before finding the determination to smile.

"Alright then, I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you then. Sound good to you?" the mage asked. Arlong laughed, before showing his knuckles to Luffy. Adopting a kick boxing fighting pose, the fish man began to bounce up on the heels of his feet. His wide toothy grin shone in the sunlight.

"I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass" Arlong announced proudly, glaring down his challenger.

* * *

Little did the two fighters know, they were in fact being watched. Not only were Nami and her sister still watching the fight from behind the safety of a market stand, but a small crowd was also beginning to gather to watch the fight with interest.

So much excitement had never been seen before on Commi Island and the citizens were curious with the developments that were currently going on. Amongst the crowd, no-one seemed to notice a man in a dark hood slink in between the people.

He, like the others, was watching the fight, though his purpose was a much more sinister one. Finding an appropriate place to stand, out of sight from the combatants but still being able to see the fight himself, Hideki folded his arms in satisfaction.

"Come on then guardian" he muttered quietly to himself "show me all of your magic abilities. Then I'll know exactly what spell to use to take you down…"

* * *

It may have been pure luck on the dark spectre's part but the wizard who was staring down the large blue skinned man in front of him was considering something along the same lines.

"Flame charm: Fire…" Luffy began, only for the large fish-man to quickly close the gap between them before Luffy could even blink. His fist shot forwards but the raven haired mage managed to dodge the blow, retreating further away from Arlong.

"Shadow charm…" Luffy started to chant once more, only for his relentless pursuer to lash out once more with his razor sharp fangs, biting the air where Luffy's arm once was.

"Kinda quick on your feet, aren't you?" Luffy mumbled aloud, before kicking forwards with his left leg. Surprisingly, Arlong swiftly sidestepped Luffy's attack and then, brought his fist straight down into Luffy's shocked face, sending the black haired man flying to the floor. The crowd winced as the man hit the ground.

"LUFFY!" Nami shouted, trying to lurch out of her sister's strong grip. This man was fighting and currently dying for them and seeing him being beaten to the floor was something that pained her heart. The instant she called, however, the mage in question looked up at her with a determined gaze.

Nami felt a shudder go up her spine as Luffy's dark eyes met hers in a fierce challenging stare. Nami didn't want to admit it, but it looked as though Luffy was trying to intimidate her. He didn't want her coming over to where they were fighting.

With reluctance, Nami nodded her head in acceptance and Luffy grinned at her in reply, before leaping quickly to his feet.

"How did you get so fast?" he asked. Arlong laughed at the question and in a response, lifting his leg into the air, before pointing down at the bottom of his sandals.

"Surely the guardian of the wave knows what one of these is" he mocked, gesturing to a small intricately carved circle with a triangle inside it. Luffy's eyes widened and he quickly racked his brains for all of the knowledge Robin had taught him.

"You're using some item magic?" Luffy asked, remembering now exactly what the seal represented.

"Bingo guardian, by channelling magical energy into these sandals I can move faster than you and hit harder" Arlong explained. To demonstrate his new found power, Arlong wasted no time in once more dashing quickly over to where Luffy was, before punching forwards at the mage's ribcage.

Luffy dodged the blow with a quick side step and quickly repositioned himself so that his outstretched palm was facing Arlong.

"Fire charm: Fire…" once more, Luffy's magical incantation was foiled as his opponent shot round and swung out his arm to hit Luffy around the head. Luffy was sharper than he looked however, as in a brief moment, he had recoiled his outstretched palm, so his arm was now guarding him from Arlong's attack.

Arlong growled at this defiance and quickly followed the punch up with a kick, which managed to hit Luffy square in the jaw, before he was sent flying backwards onto the ground again. The fish-man cackled with glee, revelling in the sight of his prey lying beaten on the ground.

"And seeing as a lot of your spells are long ranged ones and I'm always managing to get up close and personal, you haven't got a chance of beating me" Arlong revealed with a sinister grin "And to think, I was looking forward to seeing exactly what Lord Yami's opponents had in store for me in terms of power if they could elude his grasp so easily. Now, I have to say I'm incredibly disappointed"

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that" Luffy said with a sigh, hauling himself off the floor once more, before he began to stretch "but I'm just warming up…"  
"Warming up?" Arlong questioned, his eyebrow rising at the statement in confusion "hate to tell you this guardian, but no amount of warm up will be able to prepare you for my power! No magic spells you know can aid you in fighting hand to hand combat. You're out of your league…"

"Am I now?" Luffy asked, looking at the fish-man with a mocking grin "well…we'll see about that…" Slowly, Luffy's hands slipped into his pockets, before the mage smiled "you know what? I'm actually really glad I met you here"

Arlong's eyebrow rose at the statement in confusion but Luffy continued to speak regardless "you see…I've been wanting to test this against someone for a while"  
"Test what? Your incompetence?" Arlong said with a wide toothy grin. Luffy shook his head in reply.

"No, these" Luffy responded, removing his hands from his pockets and revealing to the large fish-man a pair of gloves that were now on his hands. At first, Arlong looked perplexed by this but then, he suddenly started to laugh.

"GLOVES? THAT'S YOUR BIG SECRET WEAPON? SHAHAHAHAHA! You're insane"

"Maybe so" Luffy replied "but these gloves are going to help me keep Nami safe from all of you for a long time"

"You really think so? Well then, allow me to prove you wrong" Arlong shouted, as more purple sparks shot out from his feet "motion charm: Shark on darts!" on command, the purple sparks pulsated and Arlong leapt forward with a speed almost unheard of, his nose pointing straight forwards, ready to pierce through Luffy's waiting chest. The mage took a deep breath as his opponent approached, before stretching back his left arm.

"Let's see if this works then…" Luffy mumbled to himself "GUM GUM…" at the command, Luffy's outstretched arm suddenly began to stretch as red sparks shot out from the gloves, lighting up a circle with an eight pointed star on it. Arlong's eyes widened when he saw this but never the less, he couldn't turn away from the counter attack now.

"PISTOL!" As Luffy shouted the word, his arm snapped back into place with incredible force, stretching over to the approaching Arlong, before hitting the fish-man on the left side of his face. Arlong cried out in pain and slowly, the purple sparks around his feet faded and he began to loose speed, though he was still rapidly approaching Luffy due its effect. Noticing he now had Arlong on the ropes, Luffy decided that he wasn't going to give up his lead too quickly and then raced forwards stretching out both of his arms.

"GUM GUM GATLING!" more red sparks shot from Luffy's gloves and in synchronisation, both of his arms stretched out towards Arlong, hitting the fish-man's chest with a fast flurry of punches. Arlong roared with pain at this but no matter how he tried to dodge the blows, Luffy's attacks continued to pound into his stomach.

Nami found herself watching in awe as the mage who had once been Arlong's punching bag, was slowly beginning to gain more ground with each punch. It was amazing to watch…

"H-how is he doing that?" Nojiko asked, turning to her sister, hoping she would have an answer to this question. Unfortunately, Nami did not know the answer, she had never seen Luffy fight before and now she was, it was something alien to her and unexpected.

"It's Luffy's own personal charm" a voice answered from nearby. Nami and Nojiko jumped, before looking upwards to see Robin and Zoro standing next to them.

"Robin!" Nami announced in surprise. The dark haired woman smiled down at her in recognition.

"Luffy's been working on that charm for a long time" Robin continued to explain "he wanted to be able to protect the wave wherever she was and the only way he saw to do that was to develop a new kind of magic. One that would make him stretch…and this is the result" Nami's eyes once more looked over to Luffy, watching the fighting with surprise.

"…He…developed his own customised magic?" Nami asked, hoping for Robin to clarify the situation with more detail. Robin nodded.

"It took him over five years but it seems he's finally managed to perfect it" the raven haired woman explained "the gloves are made of a special compound, fusing the magical containing properties of Kairoseki with normal fabrics to create a substance which is able to hold magical power. Now, whilst he's wearing those gloves and as long as he has enough magical energy to put into those gloves, he is effectively a man made completely of rubber…"

"A…rubber man?" Nami asked in confusion, her eyes remaining glued on Luffy beating Arlong into submission. Once more, the rubber mage was continuing his assault on his enemy, before delivering the fish-man a large uppercut to the jaw. Arlong lurched backwards at the attack but Luffy still continued his attacking and slammed his mighty fist into Arlong's left shoulder.

It was clear that Luffy's brand new elastic power was making him stronger than ever before and he wasn't showing any mercy to the murdering fish-man.

"NOJIKO! NAMI!" another voice shouted from behind Robin and Zoro.

"GENZO!" Nojiko shouted with glee, recognising her approaching father. Genzo smiled happily as he embraced his blue haired daughter, though it seemed that Nami didn't seem to notice Genzo. Her gaze was instead fixed on Luffy.

"GUM GUM BAZOOKA!" Luffy shouted, flinging both of his arms forward to deliver a powerful strike to Arlong's stomach. This attack was so powerful that Arlong suddenly lost his balance and with a last gasp for air, he fell to the floor, panting. Bruises were scattered around his body and the once grinning fish-man was now staring wide eyed at the mage standing over him.

"How…How can you be this strong!" Arlong snarled up at Luffy "I am a fish-man, a creature inherently superior to you puny little humans in everyway, SO HOW CAN YOU BE BEATING ME?"

"Maybe you're just not as strong as you thought you were" Luffy reasoned with a confident grin. Arlong growled at this reply and moved to stand up. Before he could move however, he soon found Luffy's foot pressed tightly to his throat "Now then, looks like I caught me a big fish!" the mage said with a laugh "are you finally going to tell me about this Hideki guy you were talking about before?"

Arlong let out a choked gargle in reply, only for Luffy to press his shoe down harder on Arlong's neck. Suddenly, the innocent but courageous challenger had turned from his usual persona into a heartless beast, ready to risk everything to discover the information he needed.

"Tell me…it might make you live longer…" Luffy threatened. Arlong shook with fear at the glaring man. Nami shared the sentiment, feeling a small chill flow down her spine as she looked into the mage's cold dark eyes from a distance. This was the man who was supposed to be her guardian? This man was supposed to protect her?

Nami had only known Luffy for a short time but everything about the man's character suggested that he was a reasonably calm and nice person. She wouldn't have expected Luffy to suddenly show this amount of force and ferocity and it actually scared her a little watching Luffy be like this "I SAID WHO IS HIDEKI!" Luffy repeated, growling down at Arlong.

"…Luffy, if you keep standing on his throat, he won't be able to talk to you…" Robin pointed out. Strangely enough, as soon as Robin reminded Luffy of this crucial fact, the mage's playful demeanour returned and he gave an awkward laugh, before moving his foot away from the fish-man's throat.

"Sorry about that" Luffy muttered with a chuckle. Arlong snarled at the apology and leaned to one side, spitting some blood out of his mouth as he did so.

"How can someone like you beat me?" he muttered angrily, glaring up at Luffy "you human bastard, I am of a superior race and empowered by the most powerful force in the universe, you should not be able to do this to me…"  
"Guess you underestimated me, huh?" the raven haired mage replied with a smile. Arlong nodded from his position on the ground and slowly, he began to shuffle away from Luffy, who stood triumphant over the fish man.

"I suppose you're right guardian…" he grunted in rage. Slowly, Arlong's right hand stretched backwards, sinking into a small puddle of water. Arlong smiled to himself, feeling the cold liquid in his hand.

"But I will not make such a mistake again…" the fish-man said calmly, before flicking his hand back towards Luffy. As he did so, the water from the puddle clung to Arlong's palm and formed a small bubble in his hand.

He threw the bubble straight at Luffy who, not expected Arlong's attack, failed to dodge the bubble as it bounced against his chest. As the bubble hit his chest, it suddenly exploded with a powerful force of energy, sending out a powerful shockwave. The blast of wind forced Luffy off his feet and sent him spiralling into the air.

"Luffy!" Nami cried out in worry. Arlong noticed Nami's concerned yell and quickly turned his attention back to her.

"Water charm: Shark spear!" the fish-man shouted, flinging more of the water in his palm at his target. As the water flew through the air, it twisted and morphed until it resembled a large sharp spear…

Unfortunately, this finely crafted attack got nowhere near its target. A quick slash from Zoro's sword meant that the water fell helplessly to the floor. The green haired swordsman gave a bored sigh.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE FUN OF ME?" Arlong snapped with a growl.

"You don't need my help for that" Zoro replied, placing his sword back in his sheath. Arlong growled at the swordsman's reply.

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting about someone?" a voice called from behind the fish-man. Hesitantly, Arlong turned around to see Luffy now on his feet and charging straight at him "I'm your opponent, so you've got to focus on me!"

"Water charm: Shark spear!" Arlong yelled defiantly, grabbing another handful of water from the puddle, before flinging the water spear at Luffy. The raven haired mage sidestepped the spear and continued to streak forwards towards Arlong.

Before the fish-man could react, Luffy delivered a powerful punch straight to his jaw and in that instant, Arlong's teeth smashed into shards of white. Luffy gave a smirk of triumph as Arlong reeled backwards in pain, clutching at his mouth with his hands.

"My…my teeth…my poor beautiful teeth…how could you break them?"  
"Easily" was Luffy's well worded reply. Arlong gave a gasp of pain, whimpering in shame…at least, so Luffy thought…

It soon became apparent to Luffy that Arlong was, in fact, not crying at all. Instead, he was laughing. Luffy soon found out exactly why too. As Arlong moved his hands away from his face, the mage was created with not the pink gums he had expected to find but, instead, a new pair of shining white fangs.

"W-what?" Luffy gasped "…do you have some kind of regeneration magic that you're using?" Arlong cackled at the question, before reaching into his mouth and pulling out his teeth with a sharp crack. As soon as the sharp fangs had left Arlong's mouth, a new pair had replaced them.

"What's the matter guardian?" the fish-man announced with a grin "don't you know that we shark fish-man can re-grow our teeth on a whim? That is merely one of the ways in which we are superior to you humans!" To further exaggerate his strength, Arlong repeated the process once more, ripping out his teeth in order to give him two sets of teeth in the palm of his hands.

"Face the power of my tooth gum…" Arlong yelled confidently. Luffy braced himself for the fish-man's next strike…but even he could not anticipate how fast it struck. Using his speed charm once more, Arlong closed the gap between himself and his opponent and before Luffy had a chance to dodge, the teeth in Arlong's right hand sunk into his left shoulder. Luffy winced at the pain, but shook it off and kicked forwards with a rubber leg.

The leg hit Arlong straight in the stomach but the fish-man withstood the pain and slammed the teeth in his other palm into Luffy's outstretched leg. The mage shrieked in agony as the fangs sank into his flesh and Arlong revelled in the sound as if it was music.

"You don't deserve to just die" Arlong growled in rage "foolish humans like you who would dare defy master Yami need to be…tenderised…" with Luffy severely slowed by the set of teeth in his shoulder and leg, Arlong took advantage of the situation and trapped Luffy in a bear hug.

The mage appeared to be quite shocked by this…but soon realised that Arlong wasn't exactly doing it as a display of affection. Arlong grinned as he tightened his hold on Luffy and the mage yelled out under the strain thar Arlong was using to crush him.

Watching her guardian being tortured was too much for Nami to take and with a defiant snarl, she stood up. Zoro, however, stood in front of her.

"Don't even think about it…" he said, glaring down at Nami. The orange haired woman was astounded by this command.

"He's in pain! Someone needs to help him!" Nami yelled in reply, pushing against Zoro to force the swordsman to move.  
"Stay…where you are…" Luffy shouted amidst his wails of pain. Both Nami and Zoro snapped round at this, noticing the dark haired mage smiling at them through his agony "that goes double for you Zoro. You need to keep Nami safe, besides, this is my fight…"

Zoro stared in confusion at the statement but, never the less, sighed in acceptance, releasing the hilt of his sword he had been clutching so tightly. Arlong let out a loud and boisterous laugh, staring down at his prey.

"I can't believe it! You're still being so defiant to the bitter end, aren't you?" the fish-man snarled with a toothy grin.

"End?" Luffy asked with a chuckle "no, you've not won this yet…" the mage, however, found himself interrupted as Arlong continued to tighten his grip around Luffy.

"Oh, yes I have!" Arlong exclaimed "I'm going to break you in two little man, and then, I'm going to crush those two fools and kill the wave in the name of lord Yami, just like I killed her mother and it'll be just as easy…"

Suddenly, the area grew silent. The atmosphere became heavy in the same instant. It was all too clear to Arlong in that moment that maybe it wasn't a good thing to have confidently trampled all over the mother of the wave's memory which would provoke the guardian, whilst Luffy was so close to him.

Feeling a sudden twinge of rage fill his mind, Luffy did the only thing he could think of at that moment and looked upwards…only to bring his head smashing back down onto Arlong's cranium. The fish-man howled in pain and released Luffy from his bear hug, staggering backwards with a loud groan of pain.

"YOU BASTARD!" Arlong growled, as he charged back towards Luffy. The dark haired mage moved quickly, however, sidestepping Arlong's right fist as it came to attack him. Arlong snarled at Luffy's escape but remained persistent, shoving his head forwards. Without warning, Arlong's fangs sank into Luffy's shoulders, gripping tightly to the bone.

The raven haired mage didn't seem phased by this, however, and grabbed the fish-man's nose in both hands. Slowly, Luffy tightened his grip around Arlong's nose and then, with all of his strength, he bent Arlong's nose to the right with a mighty snap. The fish-man screamed loudly in agony and retreated away from Luffy, nursing his broken nose and his injured pride.

"YOU FILTHY HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU BREAK MY BEAUTIFUL NOSE! I'M GOING TO END YOUR PATHETIC LIFE RIGHT HERE AND…" Arlong began, only to be interrupted as Luffy ran forwards, kicking Arlong straight in the groin.

"End?" Luffy growled "no…I'VE NOT EVEN STARTED YET!"

Flashes of Nami's face appeared in Luffy's mind. Tears leaking down her cheeks as she looked at him.

_"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU STAND AND FIGHT AGAINST THEM?"_

"I'm Nami's guardian…" the dark haired boy mumbled, grabbing Arlong's neck.

_"Leave this island and never comeback. Forget about me…because I sure as hell am gonna try to forget about you…"_

"And if you make Nami cry…"

"_Just get out of my life!"_

"I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU CRY!" Luffy announced, punching Arlong as he spoke those defiant words. As Luffy's fist connected, Arlong's teeth shattered into pieces. Luffy knew this was only minor victory as Arlong had shown that he could easily grow back his teeth on a moments notice, but he was determined to capitalise on his momentary upper hand.

With split second timing, Luffy plucked out the fangs in his shoulder and in his leg, ignoring the searing burn he felt as he did so. Then, with both of the teeth in the palms of his hands, Luffy stretched both of his arms backwards, only to push them forwards again, delivering a powerful 'Gum Gum Bazooka' to Arlong's chest. This time, Arlong's teeth sank into their former master and it was now the fish-man that wailed in pain.

The strength of Luffy's 'Bazooka' attack forced Arlong backwards, yet the fish-man showed some resilience as he slammed his feet down onto the floor, in order to stop his retreat.

"YOU HUMAN BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU!" Arlong snarled as he recovered from both of the attacks "I WILL ENJOY RIPPING YOU APART…" with that said, Arlong grabbed his broken nose with his right hand and then, roughly snapped it back into place. As he did this, Arlong's sandals suddenly began to crackle with energy once again as more purple sparks shot out of the sole of his shoe. The fish-man gave a sinister smile, before opening his mouth wide, exposing his new set of teeth.

"Motion charm: Shark Tooth Drill!" Arlong shouted, leaping forwards towards his nemesis. Luffy, however, had forseen Arlong's attack coming and lifted his leg up into the air in preparation. Arlong soared forwards and his teeth clamped down onto Luffy's leg. The raven haired mage growled at the pain but with a defiant yell, he brought his leg straight down onto Arlong's back, sending the fish-man into the ground.

"GUM GUM…AXE!" Luffy bellowed. As the foot collided with its target, Arlong spat up a large chunk of blood and his body to fell limply to the floor. The grip Arlong's fangs had managed to acquire on Luffy's leg failed as the attack hit. For a moment, the fish-man remained still on the floor.

Then, he seemed to strain his legs and arms in attempt at standing back up…only to fail and flop down on the floor once more. The onlookers couldn't believe their eyes. The murderous fish-man had been crippled by Luffy's last attack. It was obvious that even though Arlong still maintained the will to fight, his body was not as agreeable.

It had failed him.

The street was eerily quiet as the dust settled.

"He…he won…" Nami mumbled in disbelief. Slowly, a small smile dawned on her face as she repeated the words again, testing their sincerity. Indeed, the words were true.

Suddenly, noise erupted from the crowd. Cheers and applause sounded from the people watching the fight, hailing Luffy for his victory. One man in the crowd, however, did not show the same sentiment. Before anyone could notice him, Hideki had skulked away out of sight, a small smile hanging on his lips.

"Entertaining…" he thought to himself "though I wonder how you shall fare against me when we meet again old friend…"

Luffy stood still for a moment, gazing down at Arlong. Unfortunately, the fight had taken its toll on him as well and the mage soon began to show signs of fainting. Luckily, before the exhaustion had taken its toll, Robin and Zoro were already by his side. Zoro quickly looped Luffy's arm around his own, allowing the raven haired mage to lean on him for support.

"Thanks Zoro…" Luffy mumbled with a small chuckle. In reply, the green haired swordsman gave his friend a small smirk.

"You took a real beating there, huh? Zoro replied, hiding his relief behind a cocky smirk "I guess that means more training for you"

"I was going easy on him" Luffy insisted, ignoring his last outburst of anger with a laugh. Robin merely stood nearby, giving Luffy a supporting smile.

Soon, they were not the only two around Luffy.

"THREE CHEERS FOR STRAW-HAT!" a dark haired man yelled and the other villagers gave a loud cry of joy at the defeat of the fish-man menace. In a few moments, Luffy was swarmed by the villagers. Some were congratulating him with pats on the back and others were crying out their admiration. A little boy was even pulling on Luffy's leg, asking for an autograph.

Nami smiled at the scene, revelling in the joy that Luffy had instilled. She pulled the straw-hat on her head, further down and whispered a small thank you. Nami opened her deep brown eyes and looked up at her guardian happily…

That was when she spotted it.

It was lying on the floor, right beside Arlong.

Its former owner.

The dull faded metal stood out from the dust and the dirt in the road.

It was if it was calling to her…

In that instant, Nami made up her mind. She began to approach the object, unnoticed by Genzo or Nojiko, who were too busy watching in awe at the celebration. Nami didn't care if they'd have seen what she was doing either.

She was going to do this and no-one would stop her. As she walked, she crouched down, scooping up the object into her hand as she went. She'd never held one before but despite the fact that it was heavier than she would have first thought, she knew just what she had to do.

Soon, she was standing over Arlong's unconscious body. Now, towering over him, Nami held out the revolver that had fallen out of Arlong's pocket and aimed it at the fish-man's skull. She couldn't contain the smile on her face. The same weapon that had killed her mother would now avenge her death.

Nami usually wasn't the biggest fan of irony, but the gun sat in her hand so perfectly that she decided that she didn't care how bitter the taste of revenge was.

She thought she was unseen…

What she didn't count on, however, was for the victorious dark haired mage to look over towards where he had left his hat and the woman he had been assigned to guard…

"NAMI!" Before anyone really knew what was happening, Luffy was away from Zoro and the crowd that had surrounded him and was running towards the orange haired woman. Nami jumped at the cry and turned to face her guardian as he approached.

As he reached her, both of Luffy's hands grabbed hold of the hand Nami was using to hold Arlong's revolver. Realising what Luffy was doing, Nami tried to shake Luffy's grip from the gun. Despite her uncooperative nature, Luffy repeated her name once more

"Nami…let go of the gun…"

"No" Nami replied sternly, her eyes no longer looking at Luffy and instead glaring down at the body of her mother's murderer that was lying on the floor.

"Nami…give it to me…" Luffy demanded in a frantic voice "give me the gun!"

"…He's not dead…" Luffy seemed rather taken aback at the words and shuddered as Nami's now watering eyes turned to face him "he's not dead" Nami said once more, tightening her hold on the revolver "he deserves to suffer for what he's done..."  
"Nami…"  
"HE DESERVES TO DIE LUFFY" Nami shouted back at her guardian, unable now to hold back the tears coming from her eyes "Bellemere's ghost is calling for this bastard's blood! She won't sleep peacefully until this fish is lying in a pool of his own blood"

"Nami, stop it"  
"Luffy! Bellemere shouldn't have to die in vain!" the orange woman cried, resisting Luffy's hands trying to coax her into relinquishing her weapon.

"Nami, stop it right now..."  
"Stop what?" Nami snapped, turning to face Luffy with a grimace.

"You're acting like him" Nami found herself at a loss for words. Luffy was staring at her now, right into her eyes. His eyes were not filled with happiness or rage, but instead, they were filled with pity "…you're acting like the man you hate most" Luffy continued, noticing Nami's grip on the gun was weakening "and I can't stand seeing you like this…"

Nami wasn't completely persuaded however…

"If you were on the floor right now, he wouldn't think twice" Nami pointed out "you'd be dead…"  
"But you're better than him Nami" Luffy replied, one of his hands slowly moving from the barrel of the gun, so it was now gently squeezing Nami's hand "I'm not going to stand back and watch you do this to yourself" the mage said, more quietly now as his intense gaze continued to look into Nami's very soul.

"The instant you pull that trigger, you won't be Nami anymore. Everything that's Nami will die with him if you kill him like this…and I'm supposed to protect Nami…and I'll do that at any cost…" the orange haired woman failed to speak at these words. She remained as still as statue, showing no signs of letting go of the gun…but also showing no signs of wanting to re-enact her revenge.

"…Luffy…please…let me…" Nami pleaded meekly "please…let me do it…I need to…"

"No, you don't" Luffy responded, his gaze softening as he tried to weave his fingers in-between Nami and the gun "you've seen what happened to me in that dream right? I though I needed to do it too. I wanted to kill that celestial bastard so much…but when I did, that still didn't bring me happiness and it still didn't bring Sabo back…and killing him will do the same for you and Bellemere…" Once more, Nami showed signs of weakening and her hold on the gun loosened slightly.

One final push was needed…

"Nami, please" Luffy begged "I doubt your mother would want to rest in peace after seeing her baby become a killer…" Nami's eyes widened at the words and she began to shake. Luffy noticed this and with a final sigh, he leaned closer to Nami, so that his mouth was now mere centimetres from her ear.

"Please…let go…"

That had done it. Nami's barriers broke down. The revolver dropped out of her hands and in the same moment, Nami turned to Luffy before falling onto her knees as sorrow overcame her. Luffy was more than ready for this and quickly dropped next to her, pulling her into a hug.

"Welcome back Nami" he whispered into the straw-hat on her head with a small soft smile. She did not share his happiness. Tears fell from Nami's eyes and at points, she would angrily beat against Luffy's chest, screaming Bellemere's name as loud as she could. No matter what she did, however, Luffy refused to move and continued to hold her tightly, whispering gently into her ear.

"It's okay. It's okay"

Seeing as the threat was over now, Robin took her chance and walked over towards Arlong's unconscious body, removing a pair of handcuffs from her pocket. Zoro kicked the fish-man so he rolled over and the magically charged bindings were fitted onto his wrists. Zoro then hoisted Arlong onto his shoulder and called for Genzo to direct him to a holding cell. Somewhat reluctantly, Genzo agreed, leaving Nojiko to tend to Nako's injuries.

Nobody dared to disturb the embracing couple on the floor as it was clear to everyone that Nami needed comforting and the mysterious man appeared to be doing that. As he continued to hold her close, Luffy patted her back gently with a reassuring smile.

"Nami...I'm proud of you, and I know she is too…"

* * *

_**To be continued in Chapter 8: Unfinished business**_

_The air was still around the grave. It was not a tense stillness…but there was a hint of unease to it. Nami enjoyed the quiet air for a moment before, finally, she let out a long sigh._

"_Mum…we need to talk…"_

_**Until then, I'm Shadowonthewall6 and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**_

_**Please review. Positive criticism is welcome.**_


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